Soul of the Night
by Twlightborn1983
Summary: Lilo has been whisked away to begin her new life as a vampire, as Stitch and the others try to figure out how to find her. But others have taken an interest in the new vampire. Others from her sire's past.
1. Enter Adamar

Disclaimer: I don't own Lilo and Stitch

"Soul of the Night"

By

Twilightborn 1983

Chapter 1: Enter Adamar

A young man with black hair down to his shoulders in a dark trench coat conceals himself in a crowd of happy tourists as he watches the events unfold in front of him with much interest. A small blue creature, which looked for all the world like a little ice sprite, was making snow cones. But not in the normal sense. No, he made the ice from his breath, and the strangest thing of all was that nobody seemed to even notice. When the young man had arrived on the island, such an event would have shocked him beyond belief, but now after two months here, it wasn't shocking at all, but still extremely interesting. He had seen many amazing things in his life, but these two months showed him that many more amazing things lie in wait just beyond the sky. This had been just one of many creatures he had been observing for the past few months; as to why he was originally asked to come here in the first place, he was all but certain. These creatures were indeed powerful, he had seen ones that could destroy entire armies, and some, entire worlds. But he was not to interact with them, that was not his mission. He was to merely observe them and report back as to their nature and purpose.

The day was hot and humid, but this did not bother the man, no, it was too bright. But to someone who lived his days at night, this was to be expected. Most others of his kind would have shunned such a place, the sun shined much of the time, and while not deadly, it was very annoying and sometimes painful if one was too weak. The food was also scarce when they normally ate. But the atmosphere was still a pleasant one, compared to what he was accustomed to.

He had just about decided that he was done with his observations for the day, when she appeared. She was only a little girl, no older than 8 or 9, but the way the creatures talked about her, she was quite the hero. This intrigued the man more than anything, because surely such a child was not capable of the heroics the creatures had described. Even with the help of the blue creature that was almost always by her side, a little girl should have run in terror at even the thought of having to face things like giant sharkmen and evil tyrants. But not this little girl. But as much as the man admired the little girl, he pitied her all the more. He had decided to spy on the little girl since she did have something to do with the creatures, a lot more than he had originally guessed. He did discover much about the creatures, their original evil purposes and their creator, but he also discovered that this little girl had brought each of them to the side of good, by all means a miraculous feat. But his pity lie in the fact the girl lived in a broken home. Sure, it had alien residents so it looked larger, but no sister should be forced to have to take care of her little sibling with no help. But the alternative was even worse. Of this he knew well, he had 'dealt' with several abusive foster parents before. To think of what would happen if something happened to that girl's older sister was unbearable. Such a wonderful child, sent away to some foster parent would might neglect her, abuse her, or worse.

But he needed to keep his mind off such things; it was not good to trouble oneself with mere possibilities when reality is already troublesome. Of course, these beliefs made him seem quite rash to his elders, almost to the point of concern, but he had always came through when it counted, and that was what mattered. His feeding habits were a concern as well but he did not like to feed indiscriminately. Sinful blood was always the more satisfying to him, in part because the former bearer got what they deserved.

Adamar listened in on the conversation between the little girl, Lilo, and her 'dog', Stitch. "Stitch, now remember, we have to meet Nani at work today so she can take us to the mall." she said as she licked her snow cone.

"Naga, Stitch can't go to the mall anymore. Remember?" he said as he swallowed his, cup and all.

"Oh right, I forgot about last time. I guess they are still mad about the food court incident." Lilo said as she finished hers as well. "I guess me and Nani will have to go by ourselves then."

Adamar chuckled silently while watching the pair. Knowing that particular creature, chances are what ever happened in that food court was probably quite amusing. He weighed his options, should he follow Lilo and see if she would lead him to anymore of the creatures, or should he follow Stitch and see what else he was capable of? He decided that since all the council would want to know was how much damage he could do if the wrong people got a hold of him; he figured following the girl was a safer bet. Besides, in his two months here he had grown quite fond of her, which is no small feat for a centuries old vampire. But fondness was as far as it ever went with him and anyone human since he believed that as a vampire of such a status as himself had other things to worry about than taking a ward, something to his credit, he had never been driven to do.

He followed Lilo to the Birds of Paradise hotel. He knew he would not look out of place there; he had been staying there the past few months, posing as a rich orphan on an extended vacation. Of course, that was the same cover he had used for 200 years, so he was quite good at it.

"Hello Mr. Grey, and how is your stay in Hawaii been treating you?" asked a man in his late 30's.

"Quite well, Mr. Jamerson. But I'm afraid I will have to be returning home quite soon, matters have arisen that I must help tend to." Adamar replied as he kept one eye discreetly on Lilo, hoping she might lead him to another creature.

"That's too bad, I knew you had come here to get away from that for a while, but I guess no one can dodge their responsibilities forever." Mr. Jamerson replied, "Speaking of responsibilities, I have to go and check on the kitchen staff for tonight's big luau, will you be joining us tonight?"

"I am afraid not, I am not much for parties." Adamar said as he sat down.

"That's quite alright, not everyone likes the noise and crowds." Mr. Jamerson said as he started to step away. "Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay, and I hope you will say goodbye when you leave."

"I will do that. Thank you Mr. Jamerson."

"Of course, Aloha!" Mr. Jamerson said as he walked away.

Now with Mr. Jamerson gone, he could return to the task at hand, looking to see if Lilo would lead him to any more creatures. He had found however, that he had lost her in the crowded lobby.

Thinking he might as well sit for a moment and try to piece together what he would say to the elders when he got back, he didn't notice someone walk up to him.

"Are you a vampire?" said the person who walked up to him.

This shocked him out of his thoughts, and as he looked down, there was Lilo, looking up at him in the face. He quickly regained his composure. He had expected that if Lilo ever saw him that would be the first thing she would ask. She, Adamar had discovered, was quite the horror buff, and was fascinated by things that go bump in the night. Which, in his opinion, was not always the best thing to be interested in. "What makes you think that, little girl?" he replied in a calm tone, as if not surprised at all.

"Cause my sister says she has never seen you eat anything in the time you have been here, and you always wear dark clothing, and I heard Mr. Jamerson say that you would be there one second and gone the next."

"But what about the sun? It's daytime. If I was a vampire, wouldn't I turn to dust?" Adamar said, knowing it was a lie. Vampires didn't like the sun that was true; the sun radiated energies that somewhat disrupted the energies that flowed within them, so it robbed them of much of their powers and made them very uncomfortable. It also tended to hurt, but only if you hadn't eaten in a while or had just began to change, when it hurt like hell.

"That's just a myth. Vampires aren't hurt by sunlight," then Lilo pulls up to whisper in Adamar's ear, "they just want you to think they are, so you'll feel safe during the day."

Adamar just laughed. "Don't you have quite the imagination?" he said as picked her up and set her back on the floor.

Then the two heard a voice call from across the lobby. "Lilo! Quit bothering the guests!"

Nani said as she ran up to her sister and Adamar. "I'm sorry if she is being a pest; she likes to ask silly questions."

"They are not silly, they are important to my vampire research!" Lilo said as she looked up at her sister.

"Lilo, I will not have you wandering around my workplace, asking random people if they are vampires!" Nani screamed at her sister, taking her hand.

"It's quite alright, I have naturally pale skin, and my lips do tend to redden quite easily, so it's an honest mistake." Adamar said as he reached to pat Lilo on the head. "She isn't the first child to ask me that question." Actually she was, most humans tended to be a bit dim when it came to the world around them, but Lilo was extremely sharp witted.

This discussion didn't last much longer, Nani apologized again and pulled Lilo away, and Lilo kept complaining that Nani never let her do anything. Adamar had seen the two have several such arguments, mostly having to do with Lilo's unusual hobbies. Adamar waited until they were out of sight, then rose to follow them. It was starting to get dark and the sun had just about set. He followed the pair on foot, since with dusk came his powers and he could now move faster as an animal. He took the shape of a bat, since they were the most common of his creature forms on the island, the other two being wolf and raven. He was surrounded with a black fog for all of the blink of an eye, and he was a bat. He took off into the dusk, following his young friend and her sister as they went on their mundane journey.

As the pair drove along, Adamar watched as they were discussing something. What he couldn't understand, but it seemed to make Lilo very excited. The pair pulled up to an ATM, when Adamar noticed out of the corner of his eye a small orange creature, with ears that looked for all the world like speakers. He decided that his following Lilo had paid off, and flew over to the creature, and hid behind the tree line. He took human form again and began to observe the creature. It was making random noises that seemed to be coming from its ears. The creature walked over towards the sound studio, and Adamar followed it. A man opened the door and let the creature in, which he had called Sample. Adamar became a mist and flowed under the door as to not be noticed. The creature entered a recording booth. Adamar watched the creature for a moment, and realized it was a big noise maker. _Sounds like the stuff Sonya listens to; there is no accounting for taste._ Adamar himself was a fan of classical music, like most of the vampires of his age. He had just decided that he had seen enough, when a sound got his attention. A sound he was used to back home, but never thought he would hear here: gunshots.

Nani meanwhile had gotten out of the car to use the ATM. Just as she had reached the ATM, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, scared, only to see Lilo.

"Lilo, I told you to stay in the car." Nani said relieved that someone wasn't trying to sneak up and rob her.

"I wanted if know if I could have a dollar to go get a candy bar." Lilo said as she held out her hand.

"Lilo I will get you something at the mall, ok?" Nani said as she removed the money from the machine.

Just then, someone grabbed Nani and put a gun to her head. Then another man grabbed Lilo. "Give me your money, and nobody gets hurt." a man in a mask said as he had Nani in a chokehold.

"Just take it." Nani said sacred. "Just leave me and my sister alone."

Lilo however wasn't being as cooperative. "Let me go you big dummy." She said as she struggled to get free.

"This one's got some spunk. She needs to learn that's its not nice to backtalk grown-ups." the other man said.

"Please, just take the money and go. Leave my sister alone." Nani pleaded.

The man took Nani's purse and her money. He threw Nani down and said to his partner. "Let's go. And just so you don't try anything, I think we will just borrow your sister."

"NO! Please, I won't try anything, just let my sister go." Nani cried.

The first robber kicked Nani. "Shut up, bitch."

Nani fell to the ground and cried.

Meanwhile, the second robber was having trouble holding Lilo still, and then he received a kick to somewhere unpleasant. "Aaaahh!" the second robber screamed as he let go of Lilo.

The first robber saw this and retaliated by smacking Lilo to the ground. "Little brat!" He then pulled the second robber up.

"Ah damnit. Little bitch. Let's see how she likes lead!" The man pulled a gun, and Lilo froze in fear. Her life was going to end right there.

_Goodbye Stitch._ The man pulled the trigger, and Lilo felt blood flow. But no pain. She opened her eyes to see Nani covering her, shielding her from the shot.

"NANI!" Lilo screamed as she realized her sister had been shot.

Sirens went off in the distance, and the two men fled.

Lilo continued to call her sister's name, as she felt Nani turn to face her. She had been shot in the chest. "Nani, please be okay! Please stay with me," Lilo said as she began to cry, "you're all I have left."

"It's okay Lilo, you're alright, and that's all that matters." Nani said, her voice weakening.

"No it isn't! You can't die on me. We were supposed to go to Graceland again. You were going to get married! You can't die, you can't die, YOU CAN'T!" Lilo screamed as she cried even harder.

Nani looked into her sister's tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry Lilo, I guess this is good-bye. I love you, remember that. Remember ohana. Don't forget me."

And with that Nani passed from this world to the next.

End of Chapter 1

Next Chapter

Tragedy


	2. Tragedy

AN: This is the first chapter in this story that requires the M rating, due to the heavy gore in one scene.

Disclaimer: Twilightborn has no ownership of Lilo and Stitch.

Soul of the Night

By Twilightborn 1983

Chapter 2: Tragedy

When Adamar heard the gunshots, he transformed into a bat and shot out the door the moment someone opened it, only to arrive just in time to see Nani die in Lilo's arms. He evoked his soul sight, a power that vampires possess to aid in identifying one another, since their life force was mixed with dark energy, as well as find humans strong enough to survive the process of being fed upon. One look with his now red eyes told him all he needed to know: that that woman was indeed dead, and her little sister, an orphan.

Adamar began to fill with fury. The thought of the pain that poor child now suffered, now that the last of her family was gone, was almost unbearable. Add to that the knowledge of what might happen to her now, and Adamar was ready to strike down the bastards that caused this scene before him.

He flew quickly to earth, and then took the form of a wolf. He sniffed for a scent, and got a whiff of sweat and testosterone. He took off, running at top speed, flying by several police cars and an ambulance. He followed the scent into the woods, and found what he was looking for. He changed back into human form and prepared to send these two to hell.

The two men were catching there breath in the woods, and one was cursing out the other.

"You fucking idiot! Now we are in it for murder. What the hell were you thinking?" the first robber screamed at the other.

"Okay, okay, I overreacted! That little brat kicked me in the nuts, what the hell did you think I was gonna do?" the second robber said, still in pain from Lilo's surprise attack.

"You could have hit her, Stupid. Damnit, this is all going wrong. We were just gonna grab the little girl, drive till we got out of town, and ditch her on the road. But nooooo! You have to go and kill someone!"

"It's not like the girl got a good look at us, and their weren't any other witnesses." the second said in his defense.

Were they in for a surprise.

"I wouldn't count on that."

The two men turned in the direction of the voice. There stood Adamar, his eyes red, his face devoid of emotion. He approached the two robbers slowly, as Death approaches the dieing, knowing that they could run, but could never escape him.

"Who the hell do you think you are pal? You picked a really bad time to play hero." the first robber said as he pulled a knife and charged toward Adamar. Adamar merely grabbed the fool's arm, and began to crush it. The man screamed and dropped the knife. Adamar released his arm and the man began to back away. "What the hell are you?" the second robber asked fearfully.

"The last thing you bastards will ever see on this Earth." Adamar said hatefully as he bared his fangs. His fingernails sharpened into claws, and the wind blew hard, revealing his pointed ears.

The second robber drew his gun and started to fire rapidly. He fired six rounds into Adamar's chest and arms. To his and his partner's horror, the wounds merely closed within seconds. "Was that the best you could do? Did you think you could merely shoot me? Like you did to that woman! Like you tried to do to that little girl! Do you two bastards know what you have done? You just killed the last member of that little girl's family. Now she is an orphan."

"We're sorry pal, we didn't know, were sorry!" the first robber said as he and his partner backed away.

"Yes, yes you are sorry. You are a pair of sorry bastards who taint the earth with your presence. But I will remedy that, I assure you." Adamar said as he began to pick up his pace.

"Please don't kill us. We didn't mean to kill nobody. I was only aimin for the kid's arm. Only a flesh wound. Damn sister got in the way." the second robber said, his face in total fear. He tripped on a rock, grabbed onto the first robber to try and support himself, and ended up taking both of them to the ground.

"I've heard enough of your excuses. I will feed well tonight on your sinful blood!" Adamar said as he lunged at the pair, claw ready to rend their flesh. The first robber grabbed the second and threw him over him, using him as a human shield. Adamar's claws tore into the second robber's flesh, and he screamed. But it was not to be heard by others, as a storm had begun to brew, and thunder crashed as Adamar eviscerated the fool. The blood flew everywhere and covered Adamar and the first robber. The second continued to scream and beg, but he would not for long, as Adamar slashed his throat. The blood sprayed from the wound like a geyser as Adamar stuck one his claws into his mouth for a taste. "Your sins are great, may you pay for them in the afterlife."

He threw the body of the second robber off the first. "And as for you, your blood will sate my hunger for many nights." He grabbed the first robber as he cried and begged, and as before, Adamar slashed his neck, so that he could speak no more. He held the man up so that the blood would drain into his mouth. The robber's eyes rolled into the back of his head, he was dead. Upon finishing his meal, Adamar threw the man down to the ground. "Have fun in hell, monster."

With the two men who were responsible for the death of Lilo's sister slain, Adamar came out of his blood rage. He looked down at the carnage he had created, and sighed. "I never could control myself when it came to bastards like these two were. Oh well, I guess I should clean up. At least this storm will make it easier." He took out a glass bottle etched with runes. "Well, at least I remembered this." He laughed to himself. The glass bottle was a blood vase, and was kinda of a doggy bag for vampires. He held it to the two dead bodies, and muttered a few soft words. The blood from the bodies and that which covered the ground began to rise in a twisting stream, ending in the bottle. The stream continued to flow until the bottle was full, and then the rest splashed to the ground. "The rain should take care of the rest, now for my clothes."

Adamar put the bottle back into the pocket from which it came, and transformed into mist. He then transformed back, and his clothes were spotless. "If only humans could do this, then they would have no need for those 'dry cleaners'." He looked to the sky, it was black with clouds, the only light coming from an occasional bolt of lightning. He turned his gaze to the two dead men and cracked his knuckles. "Now to dispose of you two."

The paramedic looked up at the officer and just shook his head. "I'm sorry, she's gone." He then turned to his partner. "Time of death, about 7:45." He then placed Nani on a stretcher, and covered her in a white sheet.

Meanwhile, Lilo was shattered. She wasn't crying, she wasn't trying to reach her sister for one last goodbye. She was at that point emotionless, so far in shock that one could say that she too was dead. Dead emotionally. The officer took her hand and led her to his squad car, saying nothing, knowing nothing he could say would help the small girl right now. He led her into the front seat of the car, and buckled her in. The he shut the door, and climbed into the driver's side. The detectives let her go because in her state she would not be able to give them any information. Her sister had just given her life to save her.

Lilo said nothing on the drive home, and nothing when Pleakly and Stitch rushed out of the house when the squad car had pulled up. The cops had already gotten in touch with the rest of the family, and they had rushed outside just in time to greet the squad car. The officer opened Lilo's door, and unbuckled her.

"What happened to her? Is she alright? Was she hurt?" Pleakly said upon seeing Lilo's catatonic condition.

"No ma'am, she's just in a state of shock. She just witnessed her own sister's death." the officer said as he helped Lilo out of the car.

"Lilo." Stitch said as he looked at his best friend, now in a state of almost lifelessness.

Lilo turned to look at Stitch, and emotion returned to her face. She began to tear up, and she ran to her friend's arms. "Oh Stitch, Nani, she's, she's gone! My sister is gone!" She laid her head on Stitch's shoulder and began to cry loudly. And Stitch began to cry with her.

"Is everything gonna be alright ma'am?" the officer asked looking over at Pleakly.

"It will be alright, we'll take her inside and try and calm her down." he said, with a tear in his eye as well.

"Alright, I'll be going now. You have a family tragedy to deal with." the officer said as he got into his car.

"Thank you officer." Pleakly said as he led Lilo and Stitch into the house.

As the officer pulled away from the house, another car pulled in. A black car with tinted windows.

The scene inside the house was indeed a sad one. Jumba sat in the chair, looking worriedly at the two sitting on the couch. Lilo had been crying since she saw Stitch, but Stitch had stopped when they had sat on the couch. He was now trying to consol his distraught friend. "It's okay, Nani died to save Lilo's life. Nani loved Lilo. It's okay to cry." Stitch said as he held Lilo close, letting her tears fall on his fur.

"If only I had just done what those men had said, Nani would be alive. I got her killed Stitch! It's all my fault!" Lilo said as she began to cry harder.

"Bad men would have hurt Lilo. Not Lilo's fault, it is bad men's fault!" Stitch said as he held her closer. He would give anything to get Nani back for Lilo. Or failing that, he would want to get his hands on the men who murdered her.

Pleakly came in with some warm cookies. "Calm down Lilo. It's ok, you still have us!"

"Of course. Pleakly and I will be taking good care of little girl, will even take little girl into space when we are finally being allowed back." Jumba said as he patted the small girl on the head.

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

The family turned to face the doorway. It was Cobra Bubbles.

The ensuing conversation turned out to not be a good one. According to law, Lilo had no guardian now. And no real relatives. (Pleakly and Jumba didn't count, since they had only fake identities, ones that didn't include Lilo in the list of living relatives). So she was now in the custody of the state.

"Preposterous! You are saying we can not even be keeping even temporary custody of little girl? Earth laws are insane!" Jumba screamed at the revelation.

"I'm sorry, but since you are not relatives of Lilo, she is now custody of the State of Hawaii." Cobra said as he sighed. Cobra normally had an unreadable face, but at this moment it showed great sadness. He didn't want to do this, but he had no choice. He had to.

"But what will happen to her now? I mean, we are all she has! If you take her away from us, she'll never get any better." Pleakly said in hysterics.

"I'm sorry, but that is what must be done." Cobra replied, sorrow evident in his voice.

"Is there being any chance that we can be getting little girl back?" Jumba asked, hoping for a miracle. He didn't get it.

"I'm afraid not. The courts will probably send Lilo to the person who can best support her financially, and since you are both aliens with no jobs or even solid identities, it won't be you."

Meanwhile, Lilo was listening thru the door of the kitchen, every word hurting her more than the last. _This is it. I'm going to be sent away. I'm going to be sent away to a foster parent who might neglect me, or worse._ She had seen those shows about bad foster parents, Nani had shown her to scare her into behaving. Now she was terrified that she was going somewhere where she would never see any of her friends ever again. She just sat at the door, crying softly, when she heard the one thing she never wanted to hear, and would never stand for.

Stitch had been listening to the whole conversation and had gone back into the living room. He walked up to Cobra and asked "Can Stitch go with Lilo? Will act like good dog; never speak, never act up." He would have continued, but Cobra gave him his answer.

"No Stitch. The State is going to take Lilo, and only her. No pets."

This did it. It was too much for Lilo. _NO! It's not fair! First I lose Nani, and now I'm going to lose everything else! I'm going to lose Stitch. The only real family I have left is going to be taken from me! I won't let Cobra take me! I run away and he'll never find me. EVER!"_

Stitch was about to argue with Cobra, when they heard the backdoor slam. "No, LILO!" Stitch screamed as he ran into the kitchen.

"I thought I had told you to lock the back door!" Cobra yelled in anger as he ran after Stitch.

"I was too upset to remember, sorry! I mean, your going to take Lilo away and all, why shouldn't she run? Why should we help you find her?" Pleakly said defiantly.

"Because what if those men find her? Or something worse does?" Cobra said as he turned to glare at Pleakly and Jumba.

"Oh no! LILO!" Pleakly screamed as he realized that she might be in danger. "We have to find her!"

Meanwhile, outside, Lilo ran as fast as she could. Her eyes were filled with tears. _I won't let him catch me! I won't let him separate me and Stitch. I won't let him! I won't!_ She ran further and further into the forest, and it began to rain. Hard. The downpour blinded Lilo, but she didn't care. She wouldn't let Cobra catch her and take her away.

Her foot then caught a root and she fell to the ground. As she lay on the ground it hit her: _if I go back to my home, to my family, he will be waiting. Cobra will be waiting and he will take me from here. I'm doomed, I'll never see Stitch again. Stitch. _She began to cry as the rain soaked her form. Then she heard a voice.

"You shouldn't be out in this weather young one."

End Chapter 2

Next Chapter

Dark Embrace


	3. Dark Embrace

A/N: Ok, for anyone that hasn't figured it out yet, there will be blood sucking in this. Thus the M rating.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lilo and Stitch

Soul of the Night

By Twilightborn 1983

Chapter 3: Dark Embrace

Adamar looked down at the small girl in the mud. "It is very stormy out tonight, you could become ill." he said as he extended his hand.

Lilo looked up to see a shadowy man. A lightning bolt struck, revealing it to be the man from the hotel, the one she suspected to be a vampire. She normally would have backed away, the fact that he was out during a stormy night didn't ease her suspicions, but she was so upset she didn't even think about what he may be.

She took his hand and he pulled her up. "Thank you." Lilo said as she looked up at the man again, who was reaching into his coat. "What are you looking for?"

"You do not have protection from the rain, he take this." Adamar said as he handed her an umbrella.

"Thank you again. But who are you?" Lilo asked as she opened the umbrella.

"My name is Adamar. It is a pleasure to finally be able to make your acquaintance, Lilo."

"How do you know my name?" Lilo asked as she shivered slightly. The wind was blowing hard, and it didn't help she was soaked.

"We met at the hotel, remember?" Adamar said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "But come, and let us get out of this dreadful storm."

"Alright, since I can never go home again." Lilo said in sad tone.

Adamar decided in his mind that it was best to play dumb, since revealing that he knew what happened would lead to questions, which would lead to more questions. "My dear child, why can you not return home?"

"It's alright, it doesn't matter anyway. He will find me soon enough anyway." Lilo said as she walked along with Adamar.

"Who is it that seeks you? And why can you not return to your family?" Adamar replied, trying to hide the sadness in his voice.

"A social worker by the name of Cobra Bubbles. And I can't return to my family because I don't have one anymore." Lilo said as she fought back tears. She lost and began to cry. "It's not fair! Why can't I stay with Jumba and Pleakly? Why can't I stay with Stitch? Why did those bastards kill my sister!" she said as she fell to the ground crying once again.

This conversation was starting to get interesting. And at the same time, all was turning out for the worst. Adamar knew the name Cobra Bubbles, but not as a social worker, but as a top CIA agent. He knew because he had dealt with him before. 20 years ago, a clan of vampires staged an attempt to over take the government of a small country by enthralling its leaders. Cobra and some of his men had assisted his clan in thwarting their attempt. Cobra had proven a cunning and cool-headed human, something Adamar knew was extremely rare. Cobra would find this girl and turn her over to the courts, where only the gods know who would get their filthy hands on her. Adamar's heart filled with sorrow. "Young child, I feel sorry for your loss, such a thing should not happen to anyone, much less someone as kind and pure as yourself."

"How do you know that about me? Who are you? Better yet, what are you?" Lilo said as she looked up at him.

Adamar knew she had caught him. "Little girl, let us rest under that picnic area, and I will explain everything." Adamar figured with all the hell this child was going thru, he could at least validate her beliefs in the supernatural. He led her to the covered picnic area and sat her down on top of the table. "Now what I am going to tell you, you must never repeat to anyone, especially Cobra, understand?"

"You know Cobra? Do you work for the CIA?" she said as she tilted her head.

"Yes dear child, I do know Cobra, but no, I do not work for the CIA. In fact, I am in a group that the CIA denies the existence of. You see my dear, you were correct in your assumptions, I am indeed a vampire." Adamar says as he steps back and bows.

Now most people would have fled in fear at that, or thought that Adamar was crazy. Lilo however, merely wanted him to prove it. "Where are your fangs then?"

Adamar smiled, and Lilo watch as his teeth grew fangs. "Sorry, I had put them away. It isn't good for me to walk around with them out."

Lilo just stared. Then she finally said something, something Adamar had expected her to say, but without the fear he thought she should have. It was more of a direct question. "You aren't going to feed off me are you?"

Adamar just laughed at the girl's forwardness. "Of course not, I do not feed on children. I might kill them, and I do not wish to harm a young one."

Lilo got down from the table, and looked Adamar over carefully. "How long have you been a vampire?"

"Almost 600 years." Adamar replied as Lilo looked at his hand.

"What's it like? Having to feed on humans. It must make you feel bad sometimes, having to hurt others to survive." Lilo said as she climbed back up on the table and looked at Adamar.

"You get used to it, but most vampires make it so that the humans they feed upon feel no pain at all." Adamar said as he leaned against a pole.

"But aren't they weak afterwards? Doesn't it make them ill from loss of blood?" Lilo asked as she continued with her questioning. She had never dreamed she would actually be able to have a conversation with a real vampire. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Vampire saliva has a sort of healing ability. It causes blood to regenerate much faster, so much so that a person can recover from a normal vampiric feeding without much trouble. It just seems like a fainting spell."

"But if it doesn't hurt, what does it feel like?" Lilo asked as she leaned in closer.

"I have experienced it and I still remember the feeling to this day. It is one of pure ecstasy. It is almost impossible to describe, but nothing a human can normally experience can compare."

"Wow, is it better than sex?"

Now this caught Adamar off guard. He looked at her, eyes wide, and asked "My dear child, where did you learn of that?"

"From Nani, she was describing it over the phone to a friend." Lilo asked, her attention still on Adamar. She was weighing the idea of asking Adamar to feed on her, so she could feel what he had described. Then she remembered what had happened, and she became depressed again. "I wish Nani was still alive, that way I wouldn't have to go away."

"I too wish you were not bound for a foster home. I have, how do you say, 'dealt' with several bad ones."

"You mean fed on them. Why would you grant them that great feeling you described?"

"I don't have to. Vampires can also make it hurt like hell when they feed, in fact, that's the way I normally do it."

"Why? Do you not like humans?" Lilo asked, her voice a bit fearful. After all, if the answer was yes, she might be in big trouble.

"I like you, don't I? Besides, the humans I usually feed on have no right to call themselves human. They are the kind of people who stain the earth." Adamar said, a smile on his face.

"You mean like bad guys? Like the ones who killed my sister?"

"Exactly, like those two bastards." Adamar said with a hint of anger.

"Wait, did you see what they did to her? Were you there?" Lilo said with a bit of excitement. If Adamar picked those two out of a lineup, they would go to jail for sure!

"Yes, but I do not believe you will need witnesses. Justice has already been served." Adamar smiled even wider, and his fangs showed.

"You killed them! But why, they didn't do anything to you." Lilo said, shocked.

"I'm sorry, but when I witnessed what had occurred, what I knew they had doomed you to, I lost myself in a blood rage. I am somewhat sensitive to the plight of children such as yourself."

"Have you been following me?" Lilo asked as she meet Adamar's gaze. "Are you planning to turn me into a vampire?" The very thought not only scared Lilo, it excited her. The fact that she would become a creature of the night, an immortal vampire, and that she too would live off the lifeforce of others. It excited her because it was something she had had fantasies about for years. But it frightened her because she would actually crave the blood of others, and she didn't like to hurt people.

Adamar laughed. "Well my dear, yes and no. Yes I have been following you, and no, I have no intention of turning you into vampire. I have never taken a ward, and don't plan on ever doing so."

"A ward? Is that what you call a new vampire? And why have you been following me then?" Lilo asked, somewhat disappointed.

"I will just say this. My superiors were curious about the abilities of some of your little friends, so they sent me to take a look. As I was investigating them, I found out about you. I was impressed with all that you had accomplished, and you were a good source of information on these strange creatures, so I started following you. You led me to many amazing sights, and I watched you challenge creatures that even I would have thought twice about." Adamar said as he walked over to Lilo and put his hand on her cheek. "You are an amazing girl, I have not seen any person like you in my many centuries of life, and had it been any vampire other than myself, I'm sure they would have already made you their new ward without second thought, or with your consent. Fortunately, I have more restraint." Adamar then started to walk away.

Lilo watched as he turned to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I have to leave for home soon. My mission here is finished. You should head home. Many trials face you now." Adamar replied.

"Wait! I don't want to be left alone yet. I'm, I'm afraid." Lilo said as she continued to sit on the bench.

Adamar gritted his teeth. Every moment he was near that child, he felt sad. He felt sad because he too feared her fate. But he could do only one thing to help her, and with her pure heart, he doubted she would be able to live that life. Even the fact that he was willing to turn her was a surprise to him, he had before wished to be bound by nothing and no one save his beliefs and his loyalties. Even after almost 6 centuries, he was afraid he would not be able to be the sire his was. But could he leave her to that fate? Wouldn't anything be better than that, even the life of a soul of the night? "I will tell you what, I will tell you a story, the story of how I came to be a soul of the night. Then maybe you will understand why I hate the evils of man so, and why I feel so sorry for you."

"Tell me please."

Adamar sat down next to Lilo, and began his tale: "I was born John Marnis in the year 1408, to a serf in what is now France. At the age of 6 I was sold into service of the local lord as a whipping boy for his son. Now this lord was a cruel man, and his son equally so. They loved to torture prisoners, sometimes who's only crime was that their looks or mannerism displeased him, some for no reason at all. His son loved to cause trouble, and I would always be beaten by the lord for his son's behavior. His son would always insist I be beaten when he had done wrong, even if he had done nothing at all, just to watch me bleed. This made the lord proclaim that his son was honest and responsible, an outright lie."

"That's awful! How could they do that to anyone?" Lilo said, angered by the thought.

"Calm down, young one. My tale is not finished." Adamar said as he continued. "One day they received their punishments. A man of considerable might heard of the lord's abuse of his power, and sent his army against him, in the guise of a land dispute. He overpowered the evil lord, and put him to death. That man was a vampire by the name of Lord Ganz Media, and he is my sire. He found me chained to the wall and released me. He said that I had no more to fear, that the lord was dead. I asked him what I could do to repay his kindness. Do you know what he said to me Lilo?"

"What?" Lilo replied, her attention fully on Adamar.

"I ask nothing of you my child. I have watched you, and you have suffered enough for a thousand lifetimes. But I will offer you something. I offer you a chance to take revenge on those who commit these acts. But my offer comes with a price, for you will forever be changed, and will no longer be a mere man. You will be the wolf that cleanses the herd of those who would weaken it. You can reward others by a feeling of utter ecstasy or punish them with extreme pain. You will become a vampire, a creature created by the Night Goddess to cull the undeserving from the human race."

"He offered to make you a vampire? What made you accept?"

"The chance to avenge. I wanted to be able to do something to make those who abuse others pay. Normally I don't kill them, because it would leave a mess, but I do instill in them a fear of death that they remember, even if they do not remember me, not to mention the occasional madness or two. But sometimes I lose myself, and I do kill, as I did today."

"If you don't mind me asking, who is the Night Goddess?" Lilo said as she listened to Adamar's tale.

"Selune. She is the creator of the vampire race. You see, we are not undead, as men think we are. That is one of the many veils of lies we have placed upon ourselves in the many millennia we have existed. But returning to your question, long ago Selune looked upon the land and saw man committing acts against nature, his own race, and the gods themselves. She grew angry at Man's display of stupidly, and decided that he needed his own predator. But knowing that Man was indeed crafty, and would one day overpower any direct threat to himself, she created us so that we would blend into the shadows and instill fear into human hearts rather than outright hunt him. We feed upon the lifeforce of man, and instill our dark energy in him, for good or ill, to make his life better or worse, depending on what he deserved. She commanded us to spread apart so that we would not be discovered so easily, but to stay in contact and to not fight amongst ourselves, for we faced other threats as well, such as what we hunted."

"So that means you're one, big ohana?" Lilo asked.

"We were. But then something happened. A group of vampires, known as the Shades of Darkness, separated from the rest of us. Quite violently. They thought that humans were no more than stupid animals to be fed upon and toyed with, and that killing was our job, not merely scarring. They were convinced that the world was theirs, that man was to be controlled. When we tried to stop them, they fought back. A civil war resulted, one that lasted hundreds of years."

"Why haven't they realized that? I mean, it's not like vampires are supposed to be evil. They are supposed to stop it, right?"

"Indeed, but to them man is already evil, and the only way to stop it is to control them. And it doesn't help that vampire's are filled with dark energy, which can lead to powerful, and often destructive, moods."

"What is dark energy?" Lilo asked attention still totally on Adamar.

"It is a mystic force that the Night Goddess imbued into vampires millennia ago. As to its true origins, not even the eldest living vampire is sure. It gives us our powers, but also our weaknesses, such as a dislike of sunlight and the blood rage, which those two bastards experienced firsthand."

"Why do you not like sunlight?"

"We may not know much about the origins of dark energy, but we do know it is of the night. The sun interferes with it, so we cannot use its power during the day as easily as we can at night. As for the hurting part, it is embedded in a vampire's soul, and if the sunlight can reach the part in the vampire's soul, if there isn't enough dark energy elsewhere to block it out, well then it hurts. It's just like with sunburn, if you wear sunscreen; you just get hot, not burned."

"Oh, that makes sense. And I guess the dark energy sometimes messes with your emotions, huh?" Lilo then turned to look into the night, thinking of what it would be like to have that energy in her soul. What would she be like as a vampire? How much would she change? Would she still be understanding like she was now, still believe that there was good in everyone? Or would she begin to give up on humanity? She thought about it as she listened to the vampire.

"Indeed, that does happen, but in the Shades case, that was just part of the problem. Dark energy doesn't create arrogance." Adamar answered back. "Much of what a vampire is is decided on what he has experienced, and what he was as a human. The Shades turned those who are arrogant and selfish. Some hate humanity and wish to change it. Some just hate and wish to destroy."

"What happened to them? Are they still around?"

"Well, yes and no." Adamar replied. "When the war ended, the Shades fell to a clan called the Souls of the Moon Goddess. A powerful vampire, who called himself the Hand of Selune, then commanded the clans to disperse, as their infighting had alerted the humans. To this day, clans never grow very large, due to the hunter orders that were born of the Inquisition. But this has not dampened the plans of the Shades; they still seek to dominate humanity."

"But don't they realize that there are way too many humans? Didn't the goddess say that man would overpower any direct threat to himself?"

"Unfortunately, they are aware of that. That is why they are trying to infiltrate governments, take control from the inside, and then hide there until they have enough power to overtake the humans of other nations. Some of the other clans have been trying to thwart them, and I do admit, we have had some success. But the Shades turn others far faster than ourselves, they take those who we would have originally punished, and turn them into power-mad foot solders. Soon they will outnumber us, in fact, they may already."

"That's horrible. Family should never fight like that. But how come they turn people faster? I thought there was no difference between you?"

"That's true. But where as we hoard our ability to turn, which we only gain once every 50 years or so, the Shades use it the minute they get it. There is no shortage of angry, controlling people in the world, so they never have to look far to find a ward."

"But there is no shortage of good people either. Why do you guys have to wait?"

"Because the Dark Embrace is a gift, not to be given to just anyone. You see, in our belief, it not only creates a vampire, it creates a child for the sire. So it is a great responsibility, one that the Shades disregard."

"A child? So it's a parent-child relationship? What if a vampire falls in love with a human? Then what?"

"Why do you think we hoard our ability? So that we may assist in such a matter. A vampire need only ask another with the ability available, and that vampire will assist. Of course, I have never been asked, since the others know about my beliefs on ward-taking."

Lilo looked down at the ground as she asked the question Adamar did not want to hear. "Would you turn me if I wanted to?" She had figured anything would be better than a foster home. And she had decided that if anyone was to be her new parent, she wanted it to be Adamar. She had only known him for a day, but his actions, his beliefs, the way vampires viewed wards; she believed that she would find no better father.

Adamar stood up. "Do you know what you are asking? You do know what you would become, right? You would have to survive off the life of others. Do you want that kind of life?"

"I don't know. I don't want to go back and be taken away, but I don't like to hurt others for my own gain. But you said I could make it so I wouldn't hurt them, right?" Lilo said as she looked back up at Adamar.

"Yes, but you would be stealing lifeforce and in the eyes of men, you would be a monster. One that would be hunted down and destroyed." Adamar said, trying to dissuade her.

"I'm already a freak to most people, I only have one human friend, and tomorrow, I'll never see her again. Or any of my other friends." Lilo replied as a tear fell from her eye. "But I understand. You don't want a ward. I'd just get in the way."

"No child. If you wish to, I will turn you." Adamar said, not believing he actually said it. This child was indeed truly like none he had ever met. She was almost his opposite. She saw the good in all things, no matter what they had done. He wouldn't even be surprised if she had already forgiven the men who murdered her sister.

"You will?" Lilo said, with bits of excitement and happiness. She felt her heart begin to race. This was something that had often haunted her dreams, being changed into a vampire, feeding off humans in the night. (She had even once had a dream solely about sucking the blood of Myrtle Evans; she was even sucking on her pillow when she woke up).

"Yes, I will. But only if you realize that it cannot be undone. One the change has started, nothing will stop it. You will become a vampire, and will become a wolf among the herd of man. You will be compelled to feed off humans, and at times, the hunger will be so powerful that you will not be able to control yourself at all. Only death will free you from it."

"I understand." Lilo said as she rose from the tabletop.

"And you must understand that you may one day forget all you held dear as a mortal. They will grow old and die, and as the centuries wear away at your mind, you may forget them. Your sister, your parents, even Stitch."

"I won't forget them. I will keep pictures and videos of my family, and Stitch lives for a really long time. Jumba said he keeps regenerating his cells, so he might live forever." Lilo said as she stood at Adamar's side, looking up at him.

"Then ask yourself this: why do you wish to become a vampire? Is it your curiosity? The fact you are now an orphan, and might face a horrible foster home? Or the fact that, like I, you want revenge for the deeds done my evil men? If it is any of these reasons, I will not turn you."

Lilo thought about it. All of those things were defiantly true. But was there more to it? Why did she want to become a vampire? _I know I want to stay with my family, but either way I won't be able to, so that doesn't matter. I mean, I could come back for Stitch if I became a vampire, but would he want me? I would be a monster, a mockery of what I am now. Would he still love me?_ This thought hurt her. Stitch fearing her was defiantly something she didn't want. But if she went to a foster home, Stitch would have to return to space, and she would never see him again. No, she would want to see him, if only from afar. But that in itself was not a good enough reason. Then it finally hit her, the answer.

She turned to Adamar and said this: "I want to control my own destiny. If I let Cobra take me away, I will have not lost only my former life, but my freedom as well. The state would control my fate, and might hand me over to a stranger that might steal all of my freedom, or worse. I know if I go with you, I would have to obey your word. But it would be for my own safety, and more importantly, it would have been my decision. I want to choose my own path, and this is my choice."

To say that Adamar was impressed by the girl's words was a great understatement. She was more mature that he could have ever guessed; indeed mature enough to receive the Dark Embrace. And her independent spirit would aid her when the time finally came for her to leave his side. "Very well, then let us begin." Adamar said as he picked Lilo up and placed her on the table. "Now stand up."

Lilo did as she was told. She knew that if the books she had read were any indication, this would involve not only the draining of her blood, but the ingestion of his. She would not only experience the feeling of being fed upon, she would learn to feed, an initiation into her new life. She closed her eyes in anticipation of Adamar's bite. Adamar drew his fangs in close to Lilo's neck, and bit down. Lilo felt a sharp pain in her neck, and let out a small cry. _Oh god it hurts. Please make it quick._

Blood began to flow from the wound as Adamar closed his mouth around it. He could feel Lilo's knees get weak. _Hold on child, the pain will vanish soon._ He scooped Lilo up in his arms as he began to suck the blood from her body.

As Adamar had promised, the pain soon vanished. In its place was a surge of feeling unlike Lilo had ever experienced. She couldn't even begin to comprehend the powerful, consuming feeling that had overtaken her. All she knew was that she never, ever, wanted it to stop. _This…is…amazing. I don't…ever…want it to stop. I don't care… if he drains me dry; I want to feel this forever! _It was like every nerve in her body was overcome with pure emotion, and her spirit was in paradise.

Adamar could sense Lilo go limp in his arms, and could hear the moans coming from her mouth. _She's enjoying herself. As she should. But this is only the beginning, the sensation created by feeding is sometimes just as powerful, but she will have to learn how to control herself, less she kill every soul she feeds upon._ He removed his fangs from her throat, and drew the knife he had taken off the robber when he disposed of the bodies. He laid her down on the table and then held the knife to his wrist. He slit his wrist, and his face contorted in pain. He then focused his power on the wound so that it would not close, and blood began to rush out of it.

Meanwhile, Lilo realized that he had stopped feeding on her, and the feeling had left her. "No, please don't stop. It was wonderful." she said weakly, still unable to move her body.

"No child, it is time to complete your transformation. I assure you, you will feel that again. Every time you feed, you will feel it for a moment, your soul infusing its dark energy into your victim." Adamar said as he placed his wound on hers. "But now, to infuse my blood into yours."

The blood from Lilo's wound began to flow backwards, as if being sucked back into her drained body. Then the blood from Adamar's wound followed it. As the blood entered Lilo's veins, she began to feel a new sensation. It was almost as overpowering as the first, but it wasn't a pleasurable feeling. Nor was it painful, or even unpleasant. No, it was an overpowering need. Her wound immediately closed, and she shot up, the need driving her. Adamar held his bleeding wrist in front of her, and she latched on instinctively. She began to suck on his wound, the blood filling her mouth. Then the wonderful feeling she felt before overtook her mind and body, but instead of becoming limp like before, she continued to drink Adamar's blood, as he had done with her. The feeling faded slowly, replaced with a feeling of satisfaction. She loved this; she loved the way the hot blood filled her mouth, the taste of it, and the way it dribbled down her chin.

Adamar watched as his ward's expression as she latched onto his arm, feeding on the dark energy in his blood. He watched as her eyes rolled back, the dark energy most certainly filling not only her own blood, but her soul. Within a few days time, it will have completely transformed her. Then her eyes closed, and he knew she was feeling the satisfaction of sating her very first blood thirst. All of this made him remember his transformation, and he smiled slightly. _It almost feels as if this was meant to be, as if it was my destiny to find her and free her from humanity. Certainly they don't deserve her._

As Lilo continued to ingest her sire's blood, her hunger, her need, slowly faded. Suddenly it stopped, and Adamar's wound closed, almost as he instinctively knew that the deed was done, that Lilo had taken her first steps to becoming a vampire. Now he had her cradled like a small baby in his right arm, and he then slid his left arm, now no longer bleeding, under her to support her better. "Rest now, little Soul of the Night, you are most likely extremely tired from your experience. Now I will take you home, and in three days time, your transformation will be complete: you will be human no longer. You will be a vampire, a wolf in the herd of men. You will become more than you could ever have possibly dreamed, and I will guide you in your new life."

"Three days? What will happen to me if Cobra tries to send me away?" Lilo said looking up at her new sire, her new father. _Father, that is what Adamar is to me now. He is my father, and I am his daughter._

"Nothing will keep you from me my ward. I will be watching you everyday and every night, and at the first sign of trouble, I will take you away. But I do believe he will let you see your sister's funeral, and that should take the required amount of time to set up." Adamar said in a comforting tone.

"Soul of the Night? Is that what we good vampires are called?" Lilo asked as her eyes got heavier. She was indeed very tired, all the feelings she had experienced had drained her greatly.

"Yes, that is the name for the clan that was founded from the remains of the victors of the Falling Wars, but I wouldn't technically call us good. After all, we do drink human blood." Adamar said as he raced through the storm.

"I mean good in vampire terms. Humans don't like things that are more powerful that them, that's why the experiments have to keep a low profile." Lilo said as she rested in her sire's arms.

Adamar was impressed. She was already starting to think like a vampire. Maybe she would adapt better than he thought. Of course, he would have see how she would respond to feeding, and dealing with the Shades, but now was not the time. Then she asked him another question. "What will happen to me over the next three days?"

"Your soul will become infused with dark energy, and your blood will follow suit. Your body will change as well, but it will not be apparent to you. What will be apparent to you is the fact sunlight will hurt very badly and you will sleep during the day. You may also have strange dreams. Many vampires never have them, but I did, and so did my sire."

"What kind of dreams?" Lilo asked as she settled into her blood sire's arms.

"No two vampires ever have the exact same dream."

"And what about feeding? Won't I get hungry? What if I try to feed on my family?" Lilo said worriedly, although her voice also suggested that she was extremely tired.

"You will not feel the hunger until you fully change. Until then you can subsist on human fare. And I would advise you to be away from your family when the sun sets on the third day, for the hunger will overtake you, as well as ward sickness."

"Ward sickness? What is that?"

"You will for a short time forget everything. Who you are, your family and friends. Every human you see you will see as prey. You will only know that you are extremely hungry, and how you can sate your hunger."

"That's awful! How will I keep myself from killing someone, or feeding in the open?" Lilo asked fearfully. This vampire thing may indeed be more than she can handle. But she had no choice now, there was no going back. Indeed, she could already begin to feel the energy in her blood.

"Do not worry. Your instincts will drive you to hunt in the shadows, so that you will not be seen. And, as your sire, I can exercise a small amount of control over you during ward sickness, so I will be able to stop you from killing. But you may need more than one human to sate your thirst safely."

"How come? You don't need more than one human a night, how come I will?"

"I do not need only one human a night, more like one every few days or so, depending on how much power I use. But you are a ward, and a child ward at that, you and your powers still need blood to grow, so you will require more. Besides, it will be your first feeding as a vampire, so you will drink a lot more blood than normal. It's just the way it is."

"I'm wondering though, do we just drink blood, or can we eat other things? I really like pumpkin pie." Lilo said with a weak smile.

"Yes, we can eat, but our bodies do not require it. Now rest, you will need it for the days ahead." Adamar said as they approached Lilo's home.

Lilo's house was surrounded with people. Several officers, Pleakly, and even Mr. Jamerson. They saw Adamar walking up to the house, Lilo in his arms. "Lilo! Oh my goodness, is she okay?" Pleakly screamed as he ran over to her.

"She is fine. I got caught in the rainstorm and took shelter under a picnic area. It was a good thing, because she can running out of the woods and tripped. I think she may have busted her lip slightly, because of the blood stain on her shirt, but other than that, I think she will be okay. She and I talked for a few moments, and then I brought her home. I think she fell asleep on the way." Adamar said as he handed over the small girl to Pleakly.

"I don't know how we can thank you enough Mr. Grey. We are clearly indebted to you, her sister was one of our best employees." Mr. Jamerson said, clearly relieved.

"I'm am sorry for everyone's loss, and ask only one thing, that you take this." Adamar said as he reached into his wallet. It was 5 grand. "Use this to bury that poor girl's sister. It's the least that can be done to make up for this tragedy."

"But we can't accept this, I mean, it wouldn't be right." Pleakly said as he looked at the money.

"It's alright, Mr. Grey has a bit of a generous streak. Just a week ago he bought ice cream for every child in the day-care just because one child couldn't afford any." Mr. Jamerson said as he shook Adamar's hand. "In fact, I think I will match his contribution, so that Nani can receive the funeral she deserves. She was a hero in life and death, and should be honored as such."

"I thank you Mr. Jamerson for your kind words. But if you will excuse me, I have matters to attend to." Adamar said as he turned away.

"Of course Mr. Grey, thank you for you kindness. The people of this island won't soon forget it." Mr. Jamerson said as he waved goodbye.

"Yes, thank you so much!" Pleakly said as turned to take Lilo inside. "Now to get you inside and to bed young lady. You gave everyone a big scare."

As Adamar walked down the road to the hotel, the sky cleared, and the moon shone bright. He saw a familiar face walk up the road. "Cobra." He said with a slight nod of the head.

"Adamar." Cobra replied with a glare. "You didn't harm her did you?"

Adamar just smirked. "You know I don't feed off children, agent. Besides, I had a far more satisfying meal earlier today."

"Very well. Thank you for your assistance in this matter."

"Your welcome." _Although you won't be too happy when you finally grasp the reality of the outcome of all this._

Adamar and Cobra parted, as a small blue creature ran up the road. He smelled Lilo all over this man, but Cobra had just spoken to him, so he must not be the bad guy. Then the man looked down at him and said: "Lilo is at home, she is probably waiting for you. You should hurry."

"Adamar was kind enough to find Lilo and bring her home safely. You should thank him Stitch." Cobra said as he turned to walk toward the house.

Stitch stood on two legs and looked up at Adamar. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome, visitor from the stars." Adamar replied, bowing.

This came as quite a shock to Stitch. This man had actually recognized him as an alien! "You know Stitch alien?"

"Indeed, I am a bit sharper than most though." Adamar said as he patted Stitch on the head.

Cobra turned around, suddenly realizing why Adamar was here in the first place. "Your elders sent you to examine the experiments, are you finished yet?"

"Yes, I have gathered enough information for them. I doubt the Shades will trying anything with them. Most likely they would be angered by the thought that a small blue creature is smarter and stronger than they are. You have seen their arrogance first hand. And I doubt you will have trouble with any human organizations, as I'm sure you've seen to that." Adamar said as he smiled slightly. "We also have no intention of taking any of them either. Lilo worked too hard to find them their place."

"Good. Then Stitch and I will leave you to your business" Cobra said as he motioned for Stitch to follow him.

As the group parted ways, Stitch looked up to Cobra and asked "Who was he?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Adamar returned to the picnic area to make sure no evidence was left of what had occurred. A few spots of blood were all that remained, but they were easily wiped away. He then sat down and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number, and put the phone to his ear.

In a small dark room, with nothing but a computer screen as a light source, sat a young man in what looked to be his late 20's. The phone rang next to him, and he picked up and answered it. "Hello, Magicman here, how can I assist you tonight?"

"Trevor, I need a favor." Adamar said on the other side of the line.

"Yo, Adamar. What can I do ya for?" Magicman said happily over the phone. It wasn't often that he spoke with Adamar, not since he left his wardship with Sonya over 2 decades ago.

"I need a new identity created." Adamar said calmly.

"Funny, that's not like you to get caught. Did you go into a blood rage again?" Magicman said as he turned to his keyboard.

"Yes, but that's not why I need it. It's…not for me." Adamar said, clearly having trouble with the last few words.

"Man, you shouldn't be using the system to help a human cause they got in trouble. I mean, I know you like helping little kids escape foster homes, but the fact remains that…"

Adamar cut him off. "She won't be human much longer."

Magicman nearly dropped his phone. "You…you took a ward! You?"

"Yes me." Adamar said, anger apparent in his voice.

"Whoa, I mean, wow, me and the others really thought you never would." Magicman stuttered, still in shock.

"I suppose Ganz was right. Sometimes it just happens." Adamar said, recalling a talk he and his sire had had. He remembered what Ganz said we he told him he never planned to take a ward.

_Sometimes, my son, you don't plan on it. It just happens. You can't plan on everything. One day you might come across someone who is in trouble, just like you were. And then you won't plan, you will act._

Meanwhile, Magicman had brought up the proper programs. "Ok, I need the lady's name. Oh and don't worry, I won't tell Sonya you took a female ward. Don't need her getting jealous."

"It's a little girl, idiot. And her name is Lilo Peliaki." Adamar said as started to lose his patience. Trevor was Sonya's 3rd ward. She had 3 in a span of 250 years, where as Lilo would be his first in his 500 years of being able to have one. Trevor was also her most successful ward, after leaving her care after a mere 8 years, he went on to become the Souls top hacker, but was a little too brash and tactless for Adamar's tastes. Adamar knew he would probably have Lilo a lot longer, and would therefore be able to mold her into the type of vampire he thought she would need to be.

"Ok, got her info up. Man, her sister just died today? Did you witness it or something?" Magicman said as he typed at the keyboard.

"Yes, and I took care of the murderers." Adamar said as he fiddled with the blood vase.

"Oh, so they are resting somewhere at the bottom of a lake huh? Never could control your temper when it came to kids getting hurt, could you?"

"No."

"Well ok, I should have her a new identity within a day or so. Was that all you needed?" Magicman asked as he finished the first part of the program.

"I need you to keep quiet about this. I don't need every vampire on Earth knowing I took a ward today."

"Sure, no problem." Magicman said, fingers crossed. "I got too much to do anyway. The Shades tried to hack the system again, and now I have to reset all the security measures."

"Alright, thank you. Goodbye." Adamar said as he hung up the phone.

He had just gotten back to his hotel room, around 2 A.M., when his phone rang.

He looked at the id, it was his home. _Probably Harlan, must have broken another one of Sonya's decorations practicing, and now needs me to find a new one before she finds out._

However, the voice on the other end was a complete surprise, both in who it was and reason for calling. It was Sonya, and her first words were:

"YOU TOOK A WARD!"

End Chapter 3

Next Chapter

Dreams and Last Days


	4. Dreams and Last Days

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

Soul of the Night

By

Twilightborn 1983

Chapter 4: Dreams and Last Days

Lilo walked through the dark, damp corridor. It seemed like she had been walking forever, and yet she did not feel tired. She came across a large stone archway with a stone door, covered in symbols that Lilo did not recognize. The door began to open slowly, creaking loudly. Beyond the archway was a massive chamber, the stone gray walls covered in carvings of all different shapes and sizes. Some were pictures of different things, others were like writing, and some resembled nothing Lilo had ever encountered. The one thing all the carvings shared was the fact that they were all filled with glowing red gems. Most of the room was taken up by a large mist-covered pool filled with dark colored water. In the center was a tall statue of a beautiful woman holding a circular disk outstretched. The disk had a black surface and was covered with gems of all colors and sizes. It sort of resembled a piece of the night sky, with a pearl moon and small stars of various gem types. The disk began to give off a misty black glow and Lilo felt herself drawn to the water's edge. As she approached the edge, she gazed down to see herself in the water. Her face was clearly visible, even though the water was almost opaque. She felt afraid, and yet her feet drew her into the water. Even though she feared what might wait for her in the black pool, she felt compelled to enter. As she waded into the water, a feeling of something trying to surround her, something almost intangleable, fell over her. Even the part of her that was yet to be immersed in the dark water felt covered. This scared her more, it was as if the mist around her was alive, and it was trying to absorb her. And yet she continued toward the statue, toward the glowing disk. She could not stop herself, her body refused to do anything but walk forward and look upon the disk. She was almost to the statue, when the bottom dropped out on her. She was drug down into the depths by an unseen hand. She tried to scream, but her mouth was held shut by another invisible hand. She continued to sink, struggling. Suddenly, she stopped. She continued to struggle, until she was able to open her mouth. But to add her shock, there was no water, she breathed in air. But she still felt suspended in liquid, or was it? She couldn't tell anything about her surroundings. It was it pitch black. Was she dead? No, she could still breathe, and she felt normal.

"Where am I?" she thought as she remained motionless. Other than to breathe, she couldn't move, something held her in place. She tried in vain to move, but to no avail. Then she felt it. The overwhelming pleasure of being fed on. Only it was more intense than ever. She became almost mindless, she was unable to form even the simplest of thoughts. The sensation enthralled her, it was the most amazing thing she had ever experienced. Energy coursed through her veins, driving her mad. She was all but sure she would lose her mind. And unlike before, it showed no signs of stopping, it was actually getting more powerful. As Lilo finally got accustomed to the feeling coursing through her body and soul, she was able to think again. "What is happening to me?"

_It is pure emotion, caused by the collision of lifeforce and moonfire. It creates a feeling of either pure ecstasy for those deserving, or sheer pain for those who must be punished. As for what is happening to you, are you not enjoying it?_

"Yes...more than anything." Lilo said, still unable to control herself, still in the thrall of the pure emotion. The feeling continued to shoot through her, but only for a moment longer. The surge stopped, and Lilo was able to move. Although the surges had stopped, the feeling lingered.

_How does it feel, now that moonfire forever flows in you? The power it gives you, it is intoxicating, yes?_

"What power? And what is moonfire?" Lilo asked. She then realized that she no longer floated, but instead stood on solid ground. It was still pitch black, though, so she stood still, not knowing where, if anywhere else, was solid.

_You will know soon enough the power you possess, as well as what you are. As for moonfire, it is a piece of the infinite heavens, a gift of the Dark Lady. It flows through you now, and it has changed you._

"Okay, now I'm officially weirded out. Where am I? And who are you?"

_You are in but a dream, the places you have seen, what you have experienced, are but allusions to what now fills you. The statue is of the Night Goddess, and the pool is moonfire. You have inhaled it, and it has become a part of you._

"Okay, but who are you, and where are you? I can't see anything."

_Because there is nothing to see. You are surrounded by nothing, the void. It is here you will come face to face with your destiny. Me._

Lilo heard footsteps from behind her. She turned to see a form in the darkness. As it came closer, she could make it out. It was a girl, that looked a lot like herself, but with long white hair that fell past her waist and covered part of her face. The girl opened her eyes, and Lilo let out a gasp. Her eyes were red. Not glowing red, but her eye color. "Who are you? And why are you my destiny?"

The girl smiled softly, but did not speak. As she walked closer, the similarities between her and Lilo were becoming more striking, until Lilo finally realized.

"You're me." Lilo managed to stutter out.

The girl's smile became wider as she closed the distance. She did not move her lips, but spoke to Lilo in her mind.

_I am what you will be._

The girl then touched Lilo, and she felt herself getting weak, her vision dimming. She felt the pain of fangs entering her neck, and then nothing.

When she came to, she found herself in front of the pool. "What happened? Where am I?" she said as she stood up. She looked around for any sign of the mysterious girl. Or, herself. It was all extremely confusing to her. Then her gaze fell on the pool, and her reflection. On her flowing white hair and striking red eyes.

Then she woke up.

She heard someone calling her, but she ignored it. Her mind was focused on the dream she had just had. She realized then that she had pulled the covers over herself during the night. She opened her eyes and quickly checked her hair. Still black. "Whew, it was just a dream."

She would have thought about it more, but that same someone who called her then pulled the covers from her bed. Normally this wouldn't have done anything but annoy her, but there was a problem: the sun was shining on her, and she was changing into a vampire. She felt like she had been doused in steaming hot water, and she screamed. This scared the hell out of Pleakly, causing him to fall backwards. Lilo quickly grabbed the sheets and covered herself. Pleakly stood up and looked at her. "Lilo, what's wrong with you? You sounded like I was trying to kill you!"

"No, I thought you were Cobra. I thought he was taking me away." Lilo said, making up a quick lie. "Now go away. I'm still tired." she added, quite angrily.

Pleakly's face became sad. He walked over to Lilo and tried to pull the sheets, but Lilo held on tight. "Lilo, it's okay. I'm sure Cobra won't let anything bad happen to you."

"He can't control the courts. They will hand me off to the first bastard who pretends to care." Lilo said, still in slight pain from the sun.

"Cobra explained everything to me. You don't have to worry about a thing. He said that the courts have tight procedures, and carefully screen each applicant. They won't even allow someone with so much as an assault charge near you." Pleakly said, trying to cheer the girl up.

"Yeah, well I don't believe him. Besides, some bad people don't have criminal records. They commit their crimes in private." Lilo replied as she held the covers tight.

"He's downstairs. He wants to speak with you. He says he isn't going to take you away until after your sister's funeral." Pleakly said in a comforting tone.

"I don't want to speak with him. I don't want to be a foster child, and I don't care what the courts decide. I want to choose my own fate!" _And I've chosen it. I think. After Nani's funeral, I won't even be here anymore. My sire will have come for me._

"Well, I'll tell him you are still tired and upset. Meanwhile, you get some rest." Pleakly said as he got up. "Anything you need?"

"Yeah, close the blinds please."

When Lilo awoke again, night had fallen. She felt better now, actually somewhat energetic. She walked to the lift and went downstairs. She wandered around the house until she saw Jumba. "Ah, little girl is finally being awake. How are you feeling?"

"Better. A lot better, but where is everyone else?" Lilo asked the 4-eyed alien.

"Pleakly is helping prepare bigger girl's funeral, and 626 left some hours ago. Probably with 624."

That was all Lilo needed to know. Angel and Stitch always went to the same place to talk about things, a cliff overlooking the ocean. After thanking Jumba for the info, she ran to the cliff she knew Stitch would be at. He was there alright. There he sat, crying on Angel's shoulder. "Why can't I go with Lilo? It's not fair. I hate Cobra. I hate bad men. I hate my life!"

"There, there. It's ok. Lilo will be going where she is safe. We've finished catching the last of the experiments, so that's taken care of. And Lilo's a sweet girl, I'm sure a nice family will fall in love with her and adopt her, and she'll have a family again." Angel said, trying to calm Stitch. She knew how he felt about Lilo. He cared more about Lilo than anyone, even herself. She had at one time thought she would be excited by this, Lilo would be out of the picture, but now she didn't like it so much. It didn't help that she had started to develop feelings for Kixx. But she wouldn't break that news to Stitch yet, she was sure it would kill him.

Then both of them hear someone come up from behind them, and turned to see Lilo. "Lilo, you're awake." Stitch said as he got up.

"Yeah, I got up and came to find you. I saw you crying. I wish I didn't have to go either." Lilo said as she hugged Stitch. The two then just sat down and cried together.

Meanwhile, on another part of the island, a certain 600-year old vampire was getting his ear chewed off. "Sonya, you have had 3 wards, and you never made this big a deal before… Yes I know this is my first ward, and you want everything perfect for her… No I don't know her size... Fine ask Trevor then, I suppose that program of his can do that… No I will not call him by that foolish nickname… Why does it have to be goth clothing? Don't you think she would be more comfortable in her normal clothes? Fine, I suppose it wouldn't look right… I am not showing her off to the Council, she is a child, not a trophy… No I don't think Ganz cares that I took a ward, other vampires do it all the time…yes I know I'm supposedly his favorite... Damn it Sonya! Just let me handle this, I am 300 years your senior… Fine, I'm sorry, it's just you've called me 10 times in the last 4 hours, and it's getting annoying. Alright, goodnight Sonya."

Adamar sighed as he closed his cell phone. "As bad as she is right now, you'd think that it was her ward too!" He and Sonya had been together ever since she left her sire 270 years ago. They were about as close as two vampires ever got, close enough they even sometimes did what Harlan called "An attempt of futility". Of course, vampires could not bear children; something that Adamar was sure upset Sonya to this very day. Often when he and Sonya went out hunting, she would watch couples with their children, a somewhat envious look in her eyes. I guess this was as close as she was ever going to get to being a mother, her other 3 wards were adults, people she had taken pity upon or she thought were too something to die. But now that he had a ward, and a child ward at that, she could live out her dreams of being a 'mommy'. He figured the moment he got Lilo home; Sonya would be waiting to baby her. And that was exactly what Adamar didn't need. He wanted Lilo to become a rational and independent vampire like himself, so he would need to be able to tell her 'no' without Sonya going behind his back and telling her 'yes'. She would need to understand her place in the world, and what was expected of her, and he was going to teach her just that.

As Adamar rose from his bed to go and check on Lilo, his phone rang again. _Damnit Sonya let me do this by myself!_ He checked the id, and to his relief, it was the Council, not Sonya. He answered the phone while quickly stepping into the bathroom. "Good evening elders, how may I be of service?"

"Good evening Adamar, I called to get a status report on your assignment." a husky voice said over the earpiece.

"Lord Ganz, it is good to hear from you. As for my assignment, I have gathered enough information to realize that they pose no threat on their own or by other's hands." Adamar said calmly over the phone.

"And this reason is?" came another voice, this one sharp and defiantly female. It was Nina, the most pessimistic of the three elders, and at least 500-years older than himself.

"These creatures are somewhat independent, and more importantly, seem to enjoy doing good things for the people of this island, as my footage will show you."

"We have reviewed this footage, and I for one agree with you, these creatures do seem quite tame, contrary to the reports garnered saying otherwise." came the voice of Urza, the most well-learned of the three elders, if not always the wisest. "But what we have not been able to determine is why, well up until now. Is it true to say that these creatures owe their new purpose to the actions of a small girl?"

Adamar had hoped the Council would not learn about Lilo. Of course the Council would have wanted to turn her; such an amazing child should not be lost to the world, even if the outcome would change her outlook on life quite a bit. But now none of that mattered, since she was now his ward, so he answered the question. "Yes elder. I figured the cause did not matter; it was the outcome that was important."

"Adamar, such a child should not be hidden from the eyes of the Council!" Nina said, somewhat upset that Adamar had the audacity to hide the girl. "Such a child is indeed a refreshing sight, unjudgmental and brave. A finer ward candidate I have not seen in years."

"Indeed, what she has accomplished in the span of her short life is nothing short of miraculous. Why have you not told us of her before?" Urza added.

Before Adamar had a chance to answer, his sire came to his aid. "Fellow elders, did you stop to consider whether or not the child would be able to handle the transformation into one of our own? I am certain Adamar has. Hunting those you once considered your own kind is quite a burden, especially for one so young."

Adamar looked down at his watch, and knew he needed to check on his new ward. "Thank you elder, but I must asked to be dismissed. I have a few more things to tend to before I return, but I promise a full report on my arrival."

"Yes of course, but I expect you to not only bring your report with you when you come. I also wish for you to bring my new granddaughter with you, I do wish to see her up close." Ganz said quite jovially. Then the line disconnected.

Adamar put his hand on his forehead in annoyance."Of course, if Sonya found out, of course she would tell Ganz. No reason to keep my business to herself. She's probably told everyone she could think of." he muttered with sarcasm. He put away his cell phone and proceeded to leave the hotel.

Lilo and Stitch opened the door to the house to be greeted by Cobra. He took off his shades and stared down at the girl. "You are not to leave this house without an escort again, understand?"

Lilo and Stitch gulped. "Why, I just went to the cliff to find Stitch. I came back."

"You are too great a flight risk. You are not to leave this house unless Jumba or Pleakly accompanies you, or I will take you into custody this very moment." Cobra said sternly.

Normally Lilo would have backed down, but she wasn't sure if it was the fact that Cobra was going to take her away from everything she held dear, or if it was her semi-vampiric blood, but she decided that she wasn't going to be threatened. "Right and where would I run to? I have no way off this island, so I'm not going anywhere. Besides, why the hell do you care? You are just sending me to a total stranger, one who might neglect or molest me!"

Cobra was taken aback by Lilo's outburst. He knew she was upset, but he could tell something was defiantly wrong. But he was not about to be yelled at by an 8-year old. "You fail to realize the position you are currently in. You are now without a guardian, and remain here under my good graces alone. Keep up this attitude and I might change my mind about your remaining here for your sister's funeral."

Lilo took Cobra seriously, but she just got angrier. Fortunately, Pleakly had heard the screaming and had finally arrived to calm the girl down. "Lilo, are you okay, I was worried about you! Where were you young lady? We thought you had run away again."

"I just went to find Stitch was all, but Cobra's acting like I'm under house arrest!" Lilo said as she turned to Pleakly, still extremely irritated.

"Are far as you are concerned, you are. You are not to leave this house without a trustworthy adult, or I might just put you in juvenile hall." Cobra said, his voice tense.

"Now there is no need for that! Lilo's been through a lot and now you're threatening to arrest her? Come on Lilo, let's go get you some dinner; that is if Mr. Bubbles doesn't mind you leaving for ten minutes." Pleakly said as he turned his gaze to Cobra.

To say that Cobra was furious was just about the truth. Then he saw the picture of Lilo's family hanging on the wall, and realized that he was being the bad guy. Lilo was scared, scared that she would never see her family and friends again, scared of what might happen to her if she landed in a bad foster home. It could happen, except for the fact he would be checking EVERY day, and at odd hours, just to make sure she was unhurt. But at the same time, he could sense something was very wrong with Lilo, she just seemed different. More than she was upset, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He thought about it a minute, and then chalked it up to a possible early puberty.

He watched as Pleakly, Lilo, Stitch, and Jumba drove away. Then he heard another sound, like fast footsteps. He turned to the source of the sound, and saw nothing. He wasn't stupid though, he knew he had heard something, but he had other matters on his mind at the moment: finding someone to adopt Lilo. Remembering someone who might just be a fit for Lilo, he took out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello, I need to ask something, Mr. Harper."

It was about midnight when the four returned. They had decided to catch a late movie after dinner, and everyone was now ready for bed, everyone except Lilo that is. She was still wired when they got in the house. "Hey Stitch, wanna play some video games?" she said as she turned on the TV.

"Stitch tired." Stitch said as he headed upstairs.

"Yeah Lilo, we all need to get to bed, tomorrow is the viewing service." Pleakly said as he followed Stitch.

"But I'm not tired yet. I wanna stay up. You guys go to bed, I'll be really quiet." Lilo said as she sat down on the couch and started flipping channels.

"Little girl has days and nights mixed up. Needs to be trying to get some sleep." Jumba said as he headed for bed.

"I'm alright, I'll go to bed in an hour, promise!" Lilo said as she flipped to the horror channel.

"Fine, one hour, then off to bed." Pleakly said as he went into his room.

What started as one hour became four, as Lilo sat up and watched four hours of cartoons, since the horror channel had a vampire movie on, and after experiencing the real thing (as well as becoming it), it seemed really cheesy. She looked at the clock and decided that it was time for bed. She went upstairs and got on the lift. She was about to lay down when she noticed that the window was open, and more importantly, uncovered. She got up and shut the window and covered it with a blind. "There, better." she said as she laid down. She closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.

Lilo awoke and turned to see the window wide open. She jerked back the covers in reflex, but then she realized that she had felt no pain. She slowly pulled off the covers, only to discover the sky was overcast. "Good, no sun."

"Why that good, Lilo?" Stitch said, surprising her.

"Um…I was being sarcastic, duh. I mean it's a cloudy day, and I feel bad enough already." Lilo said, thinking up a quick excuse. She seemed to have to do that a lot lately.

"Oh ok." Stitch said as he put on a bow-tie.

"Why are you putting on a tie? Nani's wake isn't till 6.

"It's 4:30." Stitch said as he finished tying his tie.

"4:30! Why did you let me sleep in Stitch?" Lilo said as she shot out of bed.

"Lilo was tired. Didn't go to bed until 4. Stitch let Lilo sleep."

"Thank you Stitch, but how come Pleakly didn't try and wake me up?" Lilo said as she grabbed her dress clothes and ran to the lift.

"Pleakly at funeral parlor. Making sure everything is ready." Stitch said as he got on the lift with her.

"And Jumba?"

"Jumba sleep all day too. Snuck out to work on project all night." Stitch replied as they got off the lift.

"Well that figures. I guess I'll go take a shower then."

After taking a shower and changing clothes, Lilo went into the kitchen to fix a sandwich. She heard honking outside. She went outside to see Pleakly. He looked depressed. But he had been at the funeral parlor all day, planning a family member's funeral. "Everyone ready? Hey, where is Jumba?"

"Still inside, getting dressed." Lilo said as she finished her sandwich.

"What! We have to hurry and get to the funeral home. We need to be there to greet everyone, it's proper etiquette."

"I'd be in a bigger hurry if it wasn't MY sister we were burying." Lilo said as she teared up.

"Now don't cry Lilo. It's gonna be okay, I promise." Pleakly said as he put his arm around her.

"No it's not, Nani is gone. She's gone and I won't ever be able to see her again." Lilo cried.

"You get to see her today, and tomorrow. To say good-bye." Pleakly said, trying his hardest to comfort her.

"She's dead! Her body is all I will see, and I don't think I'll be able to take it!" Lilo said as she fell to the ground in tears.

Pleakly knew Lilo was in no condition to go to the wake, so he figured it best if she didn't go. She could come to the funeral tomorrow. "Listen Lilo. I will call the funeral parlor, and tell them we can't make it. That you need consoling. Ok?"

"Thank you Pleakly." Lilo said as the two walked back into the house, followed by Stitch. She knew that tomorrow, many things would change. First she would say her final goodbye to her sister.

Then, at sunset, she would say goodbye to her humanity.

End Chapter 4

Next Chapter

Funeral and First Blood


	5. Funeral and First Blood

Soul of the Night

By Twilightborn 1983

Chapter 5: Funeral and First Blood

The dark clouds mirrored the mood in the cemetery where the family and friends of Nani Peliaki had gathered to say their last goodbyes. David stood next to the coffin of his fiancé, fighting to hold back the tears. He wasn't that good with emotion; he was usually too laid back to let anything bother him. But now the woman he was planning to marry lay dead, and he was shattered. One of his surfer buddies put his hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort his friend in his time of need. Pleakly stood next to Jumba, crying his eye out. Jumba too fought back tears. But none was as distraught as Nani's little sister and only surviving family member, Lilo. She looked upon her sister's body as they closed the lid and took it out of the church. Lilo's last family member was gone forever, and now she was alone. Or she would be, if it wasn't for Adamar. She could feel his presence close by, and she knew he was watching her.

He was there, but not exactly to just watch over her.

Adamar stood on the hill overlooking the cemetery in solemn silence. He knew this could have been prevented if he had only not been distracted. Watching the scene before him, he began to ponder when his time would come. This had not been the first time he had thought about this, it was one of the things that made him seem brooding to other vampires. They all thought the moment they were turned they would never need fear death again. They were wrong, and Adamar knew it. They could live forever, but that didn't mean they would. The constant fighting proved that vampires could die all too easily. Sure, most human weapons did absolutely nothing to them, and most of their 'weaknesses' were made up, but there was three main things a vampire had to fear: blood loss, decapitation, and fire. Fire was probably the worst of their weaknesses, since normal humans might not be strong enough to decapitate, and firepower enough to cause major blood loss was hard to find, but fire was easy. Flamethrowers, bonfires, heck, even torches hurt a vampire. It wasn't that vampires combusted easily; it's that their powers provided no resistance to flame, so they were just as vulnerable as humans.

Adamar continued to ponder his possible death when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to face Cobra who was coming up the other side of the hill.

"So what brings you here, Adamar? I thought your business was finished." Cobra said, somewhat suspicious of Adamar's presence.

"I could ask you the same. Keeping your eye on the girl, in case she tries to flee again?" Adamar said as he turned back to the funeral.

"That's not your concern." Cobra said as he stood beside him.

"If you must know, I was pondering about death. A funeral is a good place to focus on one's imminent end." Adamar said as he continued to watch the burial.

"But you are immortal; death is no concern of yours." Cobra said in his normal tone.

"Not true, in Asia you and I both ended the lives of several vampires, and watched others die by other hands. My kind is effectively immortal, but not invincible, we can still be killed."

"True, but I'm certain there is more reason to your being here." Cobra said as he removed his shades.

"Indeed, I feel guilt at this woman's death. Had I not been distracted, I may have been able to prevent it." A twinge of sorrow was present in Adamar's voice. Had he been there, Lilo would still have a family, and still be human.

Cobra turned to look at him. "You were there? You didn't happen to see who did this to her, did you?"

Adamar just smiled and took out his blood vase. "Saw, and dealt with."

"You realized what was going to happen to Lilo and went into a blood rage." Cobra said as he turned back to the funeral. He remembered when a group of rouge vampires tried to feed on the children of an orphanage. After Adamar came out of his rage, not one of the vampires was left standing. Or alive.

"Indeed, even I lose my temper at times, but sometimes a bite of pain just isn't enough." Adamar said as he looked up at the sky. "The sky will clear soon, but I'm sure it will be nightfall before then. I should be headed out tonight without further delay."

"I'm sure this place isn't very comfortable to you." Cobra said as looked over at where Lilo was crying on Stitch's shoulder.

"Yes, but I will miss it nevertheless. The people are far more relaxed here than where I am currently residing."

"New Orleans is still mostly under reconstruction. So where are you staying now?"

"The Council of Elders moved to a city in the north, and I followed."

"Loyalty was always one of your remarkable qualities."

"Yes, indeed. But I have one question to ask you." Adamar said as he turned his head.

"Yes?" Cobra said as he turned to face the vampire.

"What will happen to that child now?" Adamar asked, knowing that Cobra didn't know the true answer.

"Let's just say I have made some special arrangements for her."

"Are you not worried that she will try and flee once she reaches wherever you are sending her?" Adamar said as he turned his vision back to the funeral.

"I doubt she can outrun the man I have set up to adopt her."

"An old friend of yours perhaps?" Adamar said as he looked back at the agent.

"An acquaintance." Cobra replied.

Meanwhile, back at the funeral, Lilo had begun to feel disoriented. She looked down at her watch, and realized it was almost dusk. "Oh no, I have to get out of here."

Victoria, who had been standing next to her, noticed her friend starting to look worried. "Is everything okay Lilo?"

"I don't feel so good." Lilo said quickly. "I'm going to go to the restroom."

"Oh, ok." Apparently Victoria bought Lilo's excuse, and got out of her way.

Stitch, however, could tell that something more was wrong, so he decided to follow her. Lilo started running as fast as she could, and that proved she wasn't sick. Stitch caught up with her near the front of the church. "Lilo!"

Lilo quickly spun around to see Stitch trailing behind her. _Oh no, I can't be near Stitch when I change, I might attack him!_ "Get away from me Stitch." Lilo said as she took off running again.

Now Stitch was extremely afraid. What was wrong? Why did Lilo want him to get away from her? Was she mad at him? She didn't seem so. Then it hit him, she was running away! She was going to try and escape Cobra. He called out to her. "Lilo, wait! Let Stitch come with you!"

Lilo realized that Stitch wasn't going to stop following her. He thought she was trying to run away. Which she was, but Stitch didn't need to be anywhere near her in the next few minutes. Then she felt it, her final change was starting. She felt energy flowing thru her, and her mind was getting cloudy. She became even more afraid. She knew she had to convince Stitch to leave her alone. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "Get away from me now Stitch!" she said in a loud and angry tone.

Stitch froze. The look in Lilo's eyes, it was a mixture of fear and anger. He noticed Lilo put her hand to her forehead, like she was hurting. "Lilo,"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Stitch began to back away. Whatever was wrong with Lilo, he knew he would need help to handle it.

He began to back away from her. "Ok, Stitch go." He said as he turned tail, running back to Jumba or Cobra or anybody who could help. With her friend heading out of sight, she stopped fighting, and fell to her knees, the fire in her veins coursing ever faster. Her mind became blank as her eyes closed, her identity overwhelmed. There she stayed for only a moment, the rain stopped, and as the first ray of moonlight fell on her face, her eyes shot open, with a nightmarish red glow. If she had been able to remember, she would have recognized the feeling she now felt from before, but it didn't matter: she needed nothing to know it. Without a word, she took off at a speed no human man was capable of, much less a small girl. She took off into the night, with but one goal: to spread the touch of the energy within her, her moonfire, and to fill herself with what she would take in exchange: human blood.

As Stitch picked up speed, so did the thoughts in his mind. _What's wrong with Lilo? She's been weird ever since Nani passed away. But this isn't right, this isn't just grieving. _

_Why would she run away and refuse to take me? Is she running away, or is it something else entirely? _As Stitch ran back toward the funeral, he noticed the two men on the hill. One he recognized immediately as Cobra, but the identity of the other man eluded him. Then it came to him: he was the man who brought Lilo home the night Nani died. Adamar. Why did he get a chill every time he looked him? It wasn't his looks, per se, he wouldn't stick out in a crowd of any size, but his presence was unsettling all the same. Come to think of it, why was that man here anyway? Why is he at the funeral of someone he didn't even know? Although his common sense told him it was only a coincidence, something inside him tugged at his mind, perhaps this man had more to do with what was going on than Stitch thought. He turned toward the hill, and to Adamar. _I don't know who you are, or why you are here, but I'm going to find out.­_

Just as Stitch turned toward the hill, Cobra noticed him. He immediately scanned the crowd for Lilo. She was gone. He ran down to confront Stitch. "Where is Lilo?"

"Lilo in trouble. She run away from Stitch, screams to get away from her." Stitch said in tired tone, but he still hadn't reached his goal. He turned back to where the man had been, and he was gone. "Where man go?"

Cobra wasn't as nearly as concerned that Adamar had chosen that moment to disappear as he was that Lilo was gone. "Which way did she go Stitch?" He asked in a stern tone. He would be damned if Stitch was going to be stubborn with him.

But to his surprise, Stitch came right out with the answer. "She ran past church, back toward home."

Neither said anything else as they took off in the direction Lilo had been headed. Also, neither was aware of the figure that sped past them.

When the small alien, Stitch, had begun to run toward them in distress, Adamar took that as his cue. _So it has started. It shouldn't take too long to catch up to Lilo. I just hope no one crosses paths with her before I reach her._

Lilo ran through the twilight, her instincts guiding her movements. She had no memories, but it didn't trouble her. At this moment, she knew only what she needed to know, to hunt and feed. All her thoughts, both conscious and not, were on her task. Her eyes let her see the life all around her; the birds were small orbs of orange light high in the sky, insects merely dots, even the trees gave off a tiny glow. She noticed a larger orb of light, which upon closer inspection was a small dog. Not her prey. She noticed beyond, in the distance, a larger light, different than the others, almost yellow. A small smile cracked on the vampling's face: she had found her quarry.

Today had not be the best day Myrtle Evans had ever had. First all of her friends were busy, Yuki's on vacation, Teresa at a family reunion, and Elena wasn't at home either. And to top it all off, today of all days Gigi decided to go visiting. Now here she was, at night, trying to track down a dog that she had no idea where was. "Gigi, Gigi where are you? Come on, this isn't funny. Come here this instant!" She heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. She turned around slowly. "Gigi, is that you?" It wasn't her dog; it was Lilo, with a hungry look in her eyes. Needless to say, this freaked out Myrtle. "Weirdlo, what are you doing…" was all she was able to get out before Lilo lunged at her.

She screamed as Lilo pushed her to the ground. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Myrtle yelled as she tried to break free. As hard as she struggled, Lilo held her to the ground. She tried to scream again, but Lilo covered her mouth. Myrtle began to panic; she knew Lilo wasn't this strong. She looked up at Lilo, and her eyes went wide. She saw the burning glow of Lilo's eyes, like they were on fire inside. Then her eyes fell on Lilo's open mouth, and the fangs dripping with saliva. She let out a muffled scream as she became even more frantic in her movements. Lilo then jerked her victim's head to the side, and in a swift motion, brought her fangs down into the nape of Myrtle's neck. Myrtle let out a muffled cry as the fangs drove thru her flesh, and she ceased to struggle.

As if to herald the completing of the final step of Lilo's vampirism, the clear sky became cloudy once more, and thunder clasped, signaling the torrents of rain to fall. However, the young vampire took no notice of nature's seeming fanfare of her momentous occasion; she instead focused the blood flowing into her mouth. Lilo greedily sucked the blood from her victim's veins, delighting in not only the feeling of satiating her blood thirst, but also the response her bite brought about in the young human. The sounds of her victim once muffled cries and screams, now soft moans and gasps, as her attacker left her mark on her soul. To the vampire, this was the sweetest dinner music of all. The blood continued to flow, as Myrtle grew weaker, neither noticing due to the driving energy coursing between them like a circuit. It was at that moment uncertain if the young vampiress would stop in time to spare her victim death, or if either really cared. Myrtle was is in a state of happiness she had never known, as if every negative emotion and memory she had was blasted away by the ecstasy inducing force Lilo steadily drove into her body. If she died like this, she would die happy.

But she would not die, for as she neared the point of no return, Lilo withdrew her fangs from the red-head's bleeding neck. Within seconds the wound closed, the dark energy in the girl's veins closing it. The feeling of bliss lingered as the young girl passed out from the experience. The young vampire stood up, looking over her victim. No, victim wouldn't be the right word. She didn't hurt her like sire hurt his. Then she remembered she had a sire. She turned to look toward the bushes, toward the sounds she heard coming from them. It was the small white dog, cowering away from her. It bore its teeth in a show of aggression, as if trying to drive Lilo away. To the little vampire's surprise, she thought she heard it speak. "Get away from her you monster."

However, before Lilo could react, the dog started to wobble, as if getting weak. A moment later it passed out. Lilo walked over and curiously examined the creature, nothing was wrong with its lifeforce. As she approached the dog, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Lilo."

The girl recognized the voice. "Sire." She replied as she turned around.

"It seems you got along fine without me. But I had to knock out the experiment in any case, as it seems to be able to speak." Adamar said as he walked up to her.

"Experiment? What is an experiment?" Lilo said quizzically.

Adamar sighed slightly. Ward sickness was indeed powerful. Powerful enough to make her forget even the creatures she labored to protect for years. But there was no time to worry about that, they had to move fast. "Come childe, we must hurry."

The young girl didn't question her sire. "Yes sire." Then she turned to face Myrtle.

This made Adamar smile. Even in ward sickness she was smart enough to know to cover her tracks. "Fine, let's find someplace covered to place these two."

Adamar quickly looked around. Spotting a covered bus stop, he scooped up Myrtle and Gigi and laid them down on the bench. Then, taking his ward's hand, he started to run, until both seemed to be nothing but flickering shadows moving quickly down the deserted streets of town.

Meanwhile, across town, Cobra and many of the people from the funeral had mounted a search party to look for Lilo.

"Are you sure this is the way Lilo ran Stitch?" Pleakly asked as he held a flashlight, shining it around.

"Ih." Stitch said as he stuck his noise to the ground, trying to get a whiff of his friend's trail.

Victoria stood downtrodden, not even attempting to shield herself from the rain. "This is all my fault." She said as tears started to fall, mimicking the falling drops of water from the sky.

"It's okay Victoria, you couldn't have known what was happening. Heck, I don't think any of us still know what's going on in that girl's mind." Pleakly said, putting an arm on the crying girl's shoulder.

At that moment, Stitch picked up Lilo's scent. "Lilo!" he cried as he took off, Pleakly and Victoria following the best they could keep up.

Stitch led the group to the spot where, unknown to them, Lilo had attacked Myrtle. Victoria quickly spotted Myrtle and Gigi lying on the bench. "Hey look, there's Myrtle and her dog." She ran up to the pair, discovering that they were unconscious. "They're both out cold. What happened to them?" Victoria tried to shake Myrtle awake, without success. She called over to Stitch and Pleakly. "Something's wrong with Myrtle, she won't wake up!"

Stitch smelled Lilo's scent on Myrtle, and something else, the last thing he wanted to smell. Blood. "Stitch smell blood. And Lilo!" He looked over the fainted girl frantically, but could find no sign of any wounds or blood spots, which meant it might be Lilo's blood. Which meant Myrtle might have hurt her. The smile on Myrtle's face did nothing to discredit Stitch's theory. He snared and he took a firm grasp on her wrist in anger, but he felt her pulse. Weak. Myrtle was hurt. He let go of her and turned back to Pleakly and Victoria who were scanning the area for any signs of Lilo.

Pleakly and Victoria turned back to see if Stitch had figured out anything, seeing as they couldn't find any clues themselves. "Stitch, what's wrong with Myrtle?" Victoria asked concerned that whatever happened to Myrtle might have happened to Lilo.

"Myrtle weak, tired. Something wrong." Stitch said with a grim look. He shot his head to the side, hearing a voice calling out.

"Myrtle, Myrtle where are you sweetie?" The voice was that of Myrtle's mother. As she came into view she saw her daughter laying down on the bench, unconscious. "Oh my god Myrtle!" she screamed as she ran up and took her daughter in her arms. Frantically she looked at the trio. "What happened to her? Is she okay? Did she get hurt?" She blurted out as she looked over every inch of her little girl's body.

"We're not sure. We were out looking for Lilo when we found her like this." Pleakly answered.

"You mean Lilo's missing too? Oh dear. I'll call 911 and get an ambulance out here for Myrtle, and I'll have them get in touch with the police. Oh dear this is terrible."

While Myrtle's mom and Pleakly took care of Myrtle, Stitch picked up another scent. He snarled as soon as he recognized it: Adamar. He knew that creepy man had something to do with all this. Now he'd hurt Myrtle and made off with Lilo. He quickly took off after the scent, only to have it vanish a few feet ahead of him. This confused him and made him even angrier.

"Stitch, what's wrong, you found something?" Victoria asked.

"Lilo's scent gone. Bad man's scent gone." Stitch replied as he sniffed the area.

"What do you mean?" Victoria asked.

Stitch looked over at Pleakly as he sat with Myrtle's mom, trying to keep her calm. He knew that his senses couldn't be fooled that easily. He thought back to what Cobra had said about Adamar when he first met him, how he had asked what Adamar was, and how Cobra replied that he wouldn't believe him if he told him. For Cobra to say something like that, Adamar had to be something more than human. But what? Only one person knew for sure, and that was Cobra. "Need to find Cobra." Stitch said as he took off into the rainy night.

"Hey, wait." Victoria cried out as she took off after him. There was no way she was going to get left out of this. She was the one who'd let Lilo get away in the first place. She didn't care if the search for her took to the other end of the globe, she would not be left out.

Several hours later, everyone except strangely enough Cobra, had regathered at the house. Stitch had found him and told him about Myrtle. He tried to get him to tell him more about Adamar, but he was shoved aside as Cobra took off running. The paramedics had arrived a few minutes after Stitch and Victoria had taken off, and looked over Myrtle. They came to the conclusion that she had become anemic and had fainted. Myrtle's mom rode with them to the hospital, and had called about an hour ago with what had happened. The police had joined in the search, but had found no trace of Lilo.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Poor Lilo. Where could she be?" Pleakly said, still in a frantic state.

"Calm down, Pleakly. If Earth Authorities can not be finding little girl, Evil Genius will be seeing what he can be doing about find her. Need to head to lab and get started on something that might help find her." Jumba said calmly. "Meanwhile, other little girl should go home, 626 and I are having work to do."

"No. I won't go home. I want to help find Lilo just as bad as everyone else." Victoria said sternly.

The two argued for a minute about it before Jumba caved. "Fine, but little girl should be calling parents, letting them know where she is."

"They aren't home. They're at some fancy business dinner or something." Was Victoria's reply.

Jumba turned back to face Stitch. "626, I need you to be helping me in lab. If what you are saying is true, then will need to be finding another method to be tracking Lilo. I am having no idea who this Adamar person is, and Pleakly is sure he's having nothing to do with it, but cannot be taking chances."

"Ih." _I'll find you Lilo. Even if it takes forever, I will find where that man took you. And if he so much as harmed a hair on your head, I'll make him regret it._

Cobra looked over the scene from earlier, the anger in his eyes apparent. From what he had learned from Stitch, things may have just become far more difficult than he could ever have imagined. But it explained everything: Lilo's violent mood swings, her aversion to light, and Adamar's presence at the funeral. Before Adamar had brought Lilo home that night, he had begun the process of turning her into a vampire. Myrtle was weak not because of Adamar, but because of the newly turned Lilo. Lilo had attacked her and Adamar had come to collect her and cover it up, thus why 007 was knocked out, she could talk and give them away. Cobra knew by now both Lilo and Adamar where long gone, and Cobra had no idea where. He took out his cell phone.

A elderly man in his early 50's sat at his fireside, reading a novel, smoking a pipe, when the phone beside him rang. He put down his book, set his pipe in the ash tray, and picked up the receiver. "Hello? Ah, Cobra my old friend, nice to be hearing from you! When should I expect you to be bringing the young girl to me?... What! That's perpositous, beyond chance… Adamar you say, that one? The Order's records show that one's never turned…I see. Yes. I look into it right away…. Thank you, good bye."

The man put the receiver back and stood up. He walked to his mantle, and took down a polished blade. He turned, hearing a voice from behind him. "Who was that sir?"

"Ah, Walter, it's good your awake. That was Agent Bubbles. We have a problem with the new arrival."

"Indeed, Master Harker, what seems to be the trouble?" Walter replied, curious as to what this had to do with "The Blade."

In response, Jonathan Harker turned and walked down the hallway. "We're going on a hunt."

Adamar sat on the charter plane looking out the window. He knew what could come of this if certain people figured out what had happened. He was taking a huge risk, one even the Council was not aware of. His new ward was connected to people, who knew people, who REALLY didn't like his kind. He was aware of Cobra Bubbles connection to a certain Jonathan Harker, of the Order. The Order, a leftover of the inquisition that had caused the vampires to go into hiding, was a group of men devoted to the destruction of all of the Children of Selune. They made no differentiation between vampires and there differing motives, no, all they saw were monsters that were a threat to humanity. In Adamar's opinion humanity was enough of a threat to itself, but that wasn't the point.

Adamar was almost certain that the man Cobra had meant to give Lilo to was Harker. In a way, this made him regret his decision to turn her. Harker was a rather decent person, who had been known even to let vampires go at times. He had a sense of justice, which was amble. But there was no use in harping over what could have been. If Harker found out what had happened, he would stop at nothing to kill Adamar, and possibly even Lilo, which would be seen as a mercy killing. He turned his head as he felt his charge move. "Lilo?"

"Yes?" she said.

"Do you know who you are?" The fact that she had stopped calling him 'sire' was a sign she was getting over ward sickness.

"Yeah, and I know what I did. I'm starting to be able to remember everything again, though it's hard to concentrate for too long." She said, her head tilted down.

"That girl will be fine. But here, you're probably still hungry." Adamar said as he took the vase from his coat.

"But what if she remembers it was me? I mean, she really didn't like me in the first place." Lilo said as she took a sip from the vase. "This tastes sour. Come to think of it, Myrtle's blood did too, a little bit at least."

"Ah, the sign of a bad person, though I suspect Myrtle was just a bit mean."

"Yeah, her father left when she was really little, and I think that's why the way she is, always looking to be the center of attention. But who's blood is this?"

Adamar smiled a bit. "Consider it justice. It is the blood of the men who murdered your sister."

Lilo frowned at the vase as she finished the last of it. "It would have been justice if I could have been the one to drain it from them. I would have liked to see them hurt, like Nani did."

"Indeed. We have a lot to do when we reach our destination. A friend of mine will be waiting for us at the airport. Apparently, she wants to take you shopping."

"Is she a vampire too?" Lilo asked curiously.

"Yes, she is. But you need to be more discreet in public. You can't be talking about vampires and such around others, it would draw attention."

"Okay. But what should I say?" Lilo asked as she fiddled with the vase.

"At this point, nothing. I will in time teach you all the different code words and phrases, but right now you shouldn't worry about it."

Lilo yawned. "Ok."

Adamar smiled softly. "Rest now child. A lot of things wait for you at your new home. A lot of new people are eager to meet you."

Lilo quickly drifted off to sleep as the sun rose in the sky. Adamar shut the window and looked down at his new ward, when he noticed something.

A strand of her hair, about an inch across, had turned stark white.

_Curious. This may indeed be more than I thought. More than chance. But there's no use worrying right now. I'll just keep my eye on it, and talk with Ganz when we reach home._

End Chapter 5

Next Chapter

Someplace Old, Something New


	6. Someplace Old, Something New

A/N: I decided to hurry up and finish this chapter in time for Halloween. Not sure when I'll get the next chapter ready, because things are about to get intense in my other fic, and I may end up focusing on it for a while.

Disclaimer: Don't own Lilo and Stitch. If I did, it would still be on the air and have more episodes that don't involve finding and catching an experiment.

Soul of the Night

Chapter 6

Someplace Old, Something New

Lilo stood outside the bank where her sister was killed. The air was heavy, the night lightless, with no moon shining in the sky. She turned around in confusion. Had she been asleep? Had the whole thing been a horrible dream? She turned to see her sister standing at the other end of the dark parking lot, looking at her. "What's the matter Lilo, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Nani, you're alive!" Lilo cried happily as she ran toward her sister, only to feel her body give out from beneath her. She looked up in horror as the two men descended upon Nani and began to beat her savagely. All Lilo could do was scream, but it seemed as if the dark night swallowed her cries. But she could hear the men's laughter, the cries of pain and fear from her sister. Lilo was more afraid than ever in her life. Then she heard the gunshot.

As the two men rose, there lay the corpse of Nani, just as Lilo remembered it from before. The two men were still smiling and laughing, as if it was all a game to them. As she stared at the two murderers, she felt something boil in her veins, something vicious and primal. The fear was gone; all that was left was the horrible hatred and anger she felt towards her sister's killers.

Suddenly, claws began to grow from her fingers, and her ears became pointed. Her canine teeth grew large and sharp, and her eyes dyed red. The feeling of anger consumed her; she wanted to make them pay. The men turned and stopped laughing. One let out a shriek of fear, the other opened fire with his pistol. But the bullets just went around her, and she charged the first man. She leapt upon him like the tigress on her kill, tearing into his flesh with her talon-like hands. She drove her fangs into his neck, and began to greedily suck away the blood in his veins. As he robbed his sister of life, as would she upon him. As she drained his jugular of fluid, he tried to scream in agony, his every nerve in burning, tearing pain. She maimed his body as she fed, wanting to maximize the pain, to make him feel her anger. In what seemed like only a few moments, he stopped struggling. She had slain the first, now only the second still needed to be brought to justice. Her justice.

She tracked the man by the smell of his fear, the sweat and urine from when he wet himself. She found him cowering in the back of an old house, obviously his hideout and home. He begged for his life, but the words were lost upon her ears, as she knocked him across the room and out of a window. As he tried to rise up and run, she leapt upon him with the same fury as she had with his partner. This time, she did not want to allow him the luxury of a quick demise, so she started by tearing the tendons of his legs with her claws. He screamed loudly as she worked her way up to his arms, cutting into the muscle of his shoulders. Then she could resist no longer, and sank her teeth into his neck. She listed to his muffled screams and death throes. Soon, as with the other, it was over. She felt a wave of satisfaction at her deed. She had made the men who caused her sister to suffer suffer all the more.

She heard a sound, like heavy, fearful breathing. She looked up, and her eyes met with those of her closest friend in the world. The terror she saw in Stitch's eyes brought back the fear anew. She held her hand out him, and he backed away.

"Stitch, it's not what you think. These men…"

"You kill them, Lilo. Monster!" He screamed. "Get away from Stitch!"

"No Stitch, please, understand." She said with tears in her eyes. But he ran, and she felt more sorrow than she had ever felt in her entire life. She turned to see the mutilated body of the man she murdered. Murdered. She was no better than they were. In fact, she may have been worse. Even if they did murder her sister, she had no right to kill them in turn. She was a monster.

As she fell deeper into sorrow, she heard another voice. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. I'm sorry it had to be you."

Lilo turned to see Victoria, with a mob of people behind her, all faces she knew. Mr. Jamerson, Pleakly, Jumba, even Cobra. And Stitch. She saw the look on his face and it broke her heart. She cried.

"It won't bring them back. There's only one thing that can be done." Victoria said as she took the stake and raised it above her head.

Lilo screamed aloud as she shot up, her breathing fast and heavy.

"Lilo, are you alright?" Adamar asked in a concerned tone. He had watched her toss and turn for quite awhile. Just as he had decided to wake her, she started screaming. Now awake, she tried her best to process what was going on.

She looked around and saw that she was on a plane. It had all been a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. She hadn't killed anybody, and a mob of her former friends wasn't after her. Stitch didn't know she was a vampire.

"You must have had quite a frightful dream. You have been tossing for some time now."

"Yeah, but I'm glad that's all it was, a horrible nightmare." Lilo replied as her breathing slowed down a little bit.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Adamar asked as he put his had around her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

"I killed them, the men that killed my sister. I saw them do it all over again, and I went crazy. My fangs grew out and I think my ears became pointed. I tore them apart, both of them."

"And this was a bad dream? I thought you had wished to be the one who did away with those two." Adamar asked curiously.

"Then I looked up, and there was Stitch. He looked horrified. I tried to explain what happened to him, but he didn't listen. He called me a monster. And he was right. What I did to them was monstrous. Then I saw Victoria, with a stake in her hands. She wanted to kill me. And everyone I knew was behind her, and they all wanted to kill me too. Just as Victoria held up the stake to kill me, I woke up."

"Hmm…now that was a nightmare. Relax, little one, no one knows you're a vampire, and no one's coming to get you. And as for those men, it was what they deserved." Adamar then drew his hand away from Lilo and turned to face the window. The two sat in silence for a moment, when Adamar turned back to her. "Lilo, you must realize that you will commit acts that most would consider 'monstrous' on nearly a daily basis for the rest of your existence. What makes the difference is not the act, but why the act is done, and how it is carried out. If you were to simply drain away enough blood to support yourself, without seriously harming the one you are feeding upon, is that not better than how you fed before?"

"I don't understand what you are talking about. I've only fed once before, and you said I did a good job restraining myself."

"No Lilo, you must remember the life you had before. Never forget what you were, and who you knew."

At the mention of that, Lilo remembered Stitch. She could only imagine how sad and afraid he must be right now, wondering where she was, if she was hurt. Then she thought of all her friends and family: Jumba, who was probably trying to create a way to find her; Pleakly, who was probably insane with worry; and Victoria, her only human friend. And all the experiments, what would happen with out her? She hoped that they would go on with there lives as they had before, but Lilo knew one experiment who never would. And thus her thoughts drifted back to Stitch.

"Stitch." She muttered.

"What about him, Lilo?" Adamar asked.

She turned toward the other side of the plane. "Will I ever see him again?"

"I cannot answer that. The Council strictly forbad me from bring back any of the experiments. They figured it would only do more harm than good." Adamar said, not turning from the window.

"But Stitch is a special case. He belongs with me. It's his one true place."

Adamar turned from the window, a tiny smile on his face. "If this is, and you truly believe it can be no other way, then trust in fate. Let it bring him back to you."

Lilo smiled gently in return. "Thank you, Adamar." But then the smile vanished. "But I know it won't happen. I don't want him to spend his life looking for me. I want him to be happy with Angel, and start a family."

"Your tone of voice tells me that's not what is in your heart." Adamar simply replied.

"What do you mean?" Lilo said in shock.

"I am over 600 years old. I've learned a thing or two in my time." Adamar said as he patted her forehead.

Lilo's head fell. The more she thought about, the more she missed her friends and family. Vampirism wasn't a way to stay with them; it was only an escape from a possible abusive foster home. But she knew that there was no going back. And the dream still haunted her. Would that be what they thought of her if they found out?

Adamar's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "If he cares as much for you as you know he does, he will find you. Stitch shows great determination and dedication. And besides, he's returned to you once already, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, he has. But how long will it take?"

"I do not know, Lilo."

"But, when he finds me, what will he think of me? I've become a vampire of my own free will." Lilo turned to face Adamar, with a tear coming down her cheek. "Will he think I'm a monster?"

Adamar sighed. "I cannot answer that Lilo. You know him far better than I."

Then Adamar looked down at his watch. "We will be landing soon. Let's hold this discussion until later. I'm sure there will be someone who is eager to meet you waiting for us when we land."

"Who?" Lilo asked.

"One of my roommates." Adamar replied. As if on cue, Adamar's phone rang. He looked at the id. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Who is it?" Lilo asked as she edged over the arm rest to try and see the id on the phone.

Adamar gave her a gentle shove back into her seat as he answered the phone. "Hello Sonya…yes the flight was delayed a bit…I figured you'd be waiting at the airport…yes, fine I'll see you in twenty minutes…Goodbye."

"Was that who's waiting on us at the airport?" Lilo asked.

"Yes, she's a lot more excited than she usually is. And I'm afraid that's saying something." Adamar said as he put his phone away.

"Really, I thought as a, you know, she would be kinda…"

"Like me? No Lilo, our kind have far more varied personalities than those you see on TV. Those are meant to project the emotions the directors and such wish their audience to feel. We, on the other hand, are how do you say, more real life."

"More realistic? How so?" Lilo asked.

"Well, I guess I can compare myself to one of the two others that I share living space with, at least for the moment. Sonya was born in the early 1700's, in colonial Virginia. She's was I guess you'd say the classic Southern Belle. Anyway, even now she still likes parties, where I and my other roommate find them dull or confining. Social places are where she normally goes to find prey."

"I can imagine that." Lilo replied. "I've seen some of the people at the hotel after a party. Some of them probably don't remember anything."

"Well, that and she says it's easier for her to find prey that way. And one can only wonder why." Adamar said with a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, Nani used to work at a luau, and she had some nasty comments about the guys that got really drunk."

"You truly are mature for your age, aren't you?" Adamar said as he picked up his drink.

"I guess so. But go on, tell me more."

"Alright. Sonya is far more outgoing than myself, even to the point to where she has human acquaintances. She's cheerful while around others, but she's not immature or naïve. No vampire that has made it to her age is. She realizes the truth about the world she lives in, and what is required of her, although she will hardly ever admit it."

"You mean to hunt humans. How do we do that, anyway? I mean, I know we drain blood and use our moonfire and all, but what does that do, anyway?" Lilo asked.

Adamar smiled. "I told you before; the effects of moonfire can be very powerful depending on how it is used. For example, when I use it, it is often a bite of pain. This negative force often causes severe depression and regret, unnerving the recipient."

"Does it make people kill themselves?" Lilo said, her voice caring her feeling of concern.

"It can, depending on how it is used and how much. More often it just causes the victim to be overcome with deep depression and fear." Adamar replied as he took a sip from his drink. "Do not worry Lilo; you will learn in time what you are capable of. No reason to rush things."

"But I need to know how to feed properly, or I might kill someone."

Adamar just shook his head slightly. "Lilo, if you use the bite of pain, and your target dies; chances are you wanted him to. It has to do with you, Lilo, and what deep down you think the person deserves. It is how much you hate him and his acts." Adamar then turned his head slightly away from her. "And I assure you, you will find more than one person like that in your lifetime."

This caused Lilo to look away from Adamar, to hide her tears. _I don't want to kill anyone! There's good inside every heart, I know it. There has to be._

Adamar took notice of the girl's tears. "Lilo, not all men in the world are good people. Not everyone is kind at heart like yourself. Some creatures think only of themselves, and what everything can be made for them." Adamar put his hand on her shoulder. "But I will admit, most people are not like this. They are not completely evil, completely selfish. The bite of pain can make them see the error of their ways. It can make them get help, or have them make peace with those they pushed away."

Lilo turned back to face her sire. "But how will I know what to do?"

Adamar wiped a tear from her eye. "I will teach you." He then turned to look at his watch. "But you should not worry right now; we will be landing soon."

A blonde woman, about 5'6 feet tall with a slender build waited for the pair as they got off the plane. "It's about time you got here sugar, any longer and I'd had to have Magicman find ya flight." The woman's head turned down towards Lilo. "And you must be Lilo. Well ain't you just the cutest little thing. Adamar told me a lot about you."

"Only because you haven't stopped calling me for 3 days. And I'm sure you've told everyone you can think of that I now have a ward." Adamar said with no lack of distain.

"Adam, she's your first ward, and such as little sweetheart." The woman replied as she continued to fuss over Lilo, as if she were a new baby.

Adamar just rolled his eyes, while Lilo looked over the woman. She defiantly looked the part of a vampire: her outfit was very gothic, however, the way she talked didn't. "Your Sonya, right? You don't sound like a vampire."

Sonya just put her hand to her mouth and laugh. "You watch a lot of TV, don't you dear? Not all vampires sound like their from Europe, deary, and after a few hundred years, most of us can sound anyway we want to."

"Is that one of our powers?" Lilo asked.

"No, Lilo, that just comes from years of listening and studying others. Not everything is a result of moonfire, much is just living so long." Adamar said as the three started walking toward the exit.

"And it helps to sound like the humans want you to sound. No need to be making them suspicious." Sonya added. "But don't you worry your little head off, sweetie, I'll make sure you know how to get your prey."

"I will be teaching her how to hunt, Sonya." Adamar replied, a bit ticked off.

"Sugar, there are some things she can't learn from you. She needs another lady to teach her how."

"I can teach her fine. Besides, she's too young for your method."

"She won't be for long. Your 600 years made you forget that it doesn't long for a little girl to become a little woman."

"I don't care. Even then yours isn't the only method."

"Well it's a safer method! And far easier."

"And it yields substandard prey."

"Substandard! Just because you have a fetish with playing superhero…"

It was clear that this was about to turn into a shouting match, but Adamar merely held up his hand. "We will continue this discussion in the car, where we can talk in private."

Sonya just huffed as she started to pick up her pace. It was clear she wasn't very happy with Adamar's attitude. She was just trying to help, and he had the audacity to blow her off. He was being stubborn, like always. He needed to realize that his way wasn't the only right way to do something. As she exited the airport, she saw a young man with glasses leaning against the car, with a wide smirk.

"He's back for ten minutes and you've already started fighting. Why am I not surprised?"

"Because he's a self-righteous asshole. I only said I'd help teach her how to hunt." Sonya replied as she popped the trunk.

"That's not surprising. After all, you and Adamar have entirely different methods of hunting and choices of prey. And your methods might be a little 'advanced' for her anyway."

"That's not the point. His method is dangerous and stands a higher risk of being discovered." Sonya said with a sigh. "I mean I know he means well, and he does hunt some of the most deserving of punishment, but he lets it run his life! I mean, when I feed, the victim wakes up at home or in a hotel, and a vampire attack is the last thing on their minds. With him, we're lucky if the poor bastard isn't in the psycho ward or leaping off a bridge."

"Now that's a little harsh." The man said as he looked up at the night sky. "Adamar's possibly the most careful vampire I've ever met, and as a paranoid hacker, that's saying something. He hasn't caused any deaths outside of the occasional rage since you turned me. And that's been at least thirty years. By the way, where is he?"

"I don't know what's keeping him." Sonya said as she looked back inside. "But Magic, I don't want that sweet little girl to turn out as paranoid and reclusive as Adamar is, but it looks like he's going to resist every attempt to socialize her."

"I wouldn't worry about it. If everything I read was true, she's probably going to be a far more social creature than her sire. And you'll still be around her a lot, seeing as you and Adamar are almost inseparable, so you should be able to teach her the finer points of taking advantage of drunks while Adamar is not looking."

"I wouldn't count on that Trevor." Adamar said as he emerged from the airport. "And Lilo should decide for herself which way she will conduct herself regarding that matter."

Magicman just shrugged his shoulders, while Sonya furrowed her brow. "Right. And I suppose your going to buy London Bridge next? Face it sugar, you ain't never been able to mind your own business."

"Look who's talking." Magicman mumbled under his breath.

"Quiet." She snapped back as she opened the car door. "And besides, she needs to be taught how to feed properly. It would be dangerous for her to go in blindly."

"I will teach her the various techniques for hunting and not getting caught, but how and on whom she executes them will be up to her. I don't want to force my method of hunting on her anymore than I want you forcing yours."

"That's fine, I was just saying…"

"Sonya, I know your method is far safer and easier. But Lilo is the type of person who isn't comfortable playing on the emotion of others. She also isn't too keen on harming others."

Magicman could tell that this conversation didn't include him, so he got in the car to wait for the couple to finish arguing. No couple went without fights, in fact Adamar and Sonya quarreled quite a bit. It was best just to let them figure it out and get out of the way.

"Then tell me something. Why did you turn her? I know it wasn't the whole foster home bit, because we've been thru that song and dance before. You'd see a poor foster kid, and then you'd proceeded to feed off his foster parents to punish them. You've never taken a closer interest before." Sonya said as she looked him in the eye.

Adamar turned his head away as he answered. "Because I've never met anyone so pure and unjudgemental before. I've witnessed her befriend creatures that most people would run in fear from. I've seen her do good things, and she didn't deserve the fate of a foster child."

Sonya put her hand to his face and turned it to face her again. "I know you sweetheart, there's more to it than that."

Adamar closed his eyes for a moment, and when he reopened them, he gave her the answer. "It's what she told me the night I turned her. She said that she wanted to choose her own fate that she'd rather take to life as a vampire than be subjected to what might wait for her in foster care."

Sonya cracked a smile. "So it was her maturity that lead you to do it? That's the Adamar I know and love. You chose her for what she thought as well as what she had accomplished."

"Yes, I did." Then he turned his head to face the door. "I wonder where she is. She said she had to go to the restroom, but it's been ten minutes. Maybe I should go look for her."

Just as he turned to walk into the building, Lilo stepped outside. She was looking at the two of them while messing with a lock of her hair. Adamar noticed it first: a noticeable part of her hair had starting growing lighter. It was currently a dark grey on a part of the left side of her head, spreading out from the small white area Adamar had noticed earlier.

Sonya let out a small gasp before quickly recomposing herself. Lilo noticed and looked at the pair. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no sweetheart, I just remembered that I forgot a friend's birthday, and that I need to call them tomorrow and apologize. Nothing important." Sonya said, making up and quick and hopefully convincing lie.

This lasted until Magicman got back out of the car and saw the little girl's hair. "Oh crap. Okay, I'm pretty sure everyone else notices, so how come nobody's saying anything?"

Adamar's face immediately showed his annoyance. "Because it's a non-issue."

"The Mark of the Scion is a non-issue? Since when?" Magicman replied.

"Magic, just get back in the car. I'll explain it." Sonya said.

Lilo immediately became worried. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no sweetie. In fact, you're very lucky." Sonya said as she took out a small mirror out of her purse. She held it up to Lilo.

"Yeah, my hair is growing lighter. I thought that was supposed to happen." Lilo replied as she looked over her hair. "Isn't it?"

"What gave you the idea that your hair would turn lighter?" Adamar asked, his face now showing concern.

"My dream. In it I had completely white hair." Lilo replied, looking over the completely white lock of hair.

Before Adamar could respond, Sonya interrupted. "I think it's time we hit the road. We have quite a bit of a drive before we reach home, and I'd like to be there before dawn. I haven't eaten recently and would like to get a quick bite before I take Lilo shopping tomorrow."

"But what about my hair?" Lilo asked, concerned that her hair was just a small symptom of a larger problem.

"I have plenty of time to explain it on the way home. It's at least a four hour drive."

"It is? But I thought you lived in a big city." Lilo replied as she climbed in the car.

"We do, Lilo. But I like to take precautions, so I had us land in a city to the west. That way, if anyone followed us, they would have no idea which city we lived in. They would think that we lived in this city." Adamar said as he got in beside her.

"Yes, Adam is nothing if not cautious. Aren't you sugar bug?" Sonya replied as she got in the front seat.

Adamar rolled his eyes. Sonya had a seemingly infinite amount of pet names for him, and it tended to get embarrassing.

"So what were you going to tell me about my hair? And when will my eyes start to change?" Lilo asked.

"Yep, that's the full Scion's Mark. Hair like snow and eyes like rubies." Magicman replied as he started the vehicle.

"What's a Scion?" Lilo asked.

Sonya began to explain "A vampire said to be favored by Selune herself. Sometimes, when a person is turned, they go thru changes that don't happen to normal vampires. Their hair becomes lighter and their eyes might change color. Magicman here was describing a true Scion, a very rare kind of vampire."

"Will I become one?" Lilo asked. The thought of becoming something special was no doubt exciting, but she couldn't help but realize that her sire was a bit worried.

"I don't know sweetheart. What happened in your dream?"

Lilo proceeded to relate her dream in detail. All the while the look on Adamar's face never changed, but Sonya knew he was becoming worried. Lilo had described a true Scion in extremely accurate detail. They were always female, and their hair did have a tendency to be extremely long, and if it were cut, it would grow back to its normal length within a short time.

"What does it mean? Is it something bad?" Lilo asked, worried again.

"No, Adam's just a worry wart. I guess he's a bit surprised that his first ward turned out to be a Scion." Sonya replied.

"Are Scion's different than other vampires? Do they have special powers?" Lilo asked she took a jar out of the cooler that was on the floor.

"Not that anyone knows of, thought the legends have given a couple of them a big ego. One of the Council members, Nina, is a true Scion. She'll be able to tell if you will become one."

"Then why are they special?" Lilo said as she looked at the contents of the jar. "This is blood, isn't it?"

"Yeah, we figured you might get hungry and Sonya visited a few of her 'friends' before we came." Magicman said just before he honked the horn. "Get of the road, ya drunk!"

"Ignoring Trevor's need to scream at people who can't possibly hear him, Lilo, they are special because it is said they are in the image of the goddess herself, thus the name Scions, or children. They say the first vampire was a Scion, and that from her came all others." Adamar said as he lay back in his chair.

"So they are special because they resemble the first one?"

"As I said before, no one knows. Vampire history may not reach as far back as human history, but most vampires living today are no more than 900 years old, and I can't think of anyone older than 1500. It's possible that the Scions were important for something in the distant past, possibly near the beginning, but it's been forgotten."

"How come no vampires are older than that? Don't we live forever?"

"That would be the Order's fault." Magicman answered.

"The Order?"

"Yeah, the Order. Have Adamar tell you their history, he knows more about it than me."

Adamar sighed. "You just had to bring them up. The Order was formed during around the 14th century, by a group of knights that had uncovered our existence. For years they hunted us under different names and guises, at first to avoid ridicule, and then to avoid recreating the hysteria of the Inquisition."

"You mean the one they started." Magicman added.

"No one can prove that, Trevor. But as I was saying, the wars had gotten us noticed, and the Order had been able to track down many of the old vampires that survived. After a while, we figured out ways to hide ourselves from them, and we have since lost only a few vampires each year. But between them and the infighting, at one time we were all but destroyed."

Adamar immediately noticed the frightened look on Lilo's face. He put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "Do not worry child, the Order has grown weak over the years. Men have all but stopped in believing we are truly real, so the Order finds fewer and fewer recruits. You do not have to worry about them."

Lilo wasn't totally convinced. "But what if one finds me? What do I do?"

"Well, then it's them or you." Magicman replied, and he was immediately struck in the back of the head by Sonya. "What did you do that for?"

"Cause you outta have enough sense to try and not scare little kids." Sonya replied.

"Sorry, but she's gotta know what's out there. But don't worry kid; I don't think Adamar would let them anywhere near you. They'd have to get thru him first, and I can tell you from experience, they don't wanna do that."

"Is Adamar really that strong?" Lilo asked as she looked over to her sire. He just sat in silence.

"He's the best I'd ever met. Only person to ever best him was Jonathan Harker, and that guy has to be dead by now." Magicman replied. "Come to think of the old softie, I guess not everyone in the Order kills vampires needlessly. He let Adamar live."

"Who is Jonathan Harker?" Lilo asked curiously.

Adamar finally broke his silence. "Jonathan Harker is the last of a long line of vampire hunters, and yes, he was the only person to ever defeat me in fair combat. He disappeared shortly after letting me live. Apparently, he had become disgusted with the Order. Like many of the vampire clans, some of the new blood in the Order was extremely violent and loved to kill. The last time I saw him was in Asia. No one in any of the clans has seen him since then. I don't think even the Order knows where their leader is."

"Or if he's even alive today." Sonya added.

"Someone like Harker won't just go quietly into the night. I have a feeling he is still alive and well today. As to what he might be doing, I don't know." Adamar replied.

Lilo listened to everything with complete interest. The world she had entered was more than she could ever have imagined. Ancient orders of both vampires and humans, fighting in the night for almost a millennium, vampires marked from creation as different, Scions, it was so much to take in. But there was no turning back, and deep down she didn't want too. Not because she loved being a vampire, it was cool and all, but she wasn't so sure about what lie ahead. It was because she felt safe; Adamar reminded her of someone. Someone she had lost long ago: her real father. He had always been sort of serious about everything and he had always been there to protect her, to catch her when she fell. From the moment he died until when Stitch came, she had felt alone and vulnerable. She never wanted to feel that way again, and she was sure Adamar would make sure she never would.

Adamar then became silent again, but only in his voice. His mind still raced with possibilities. Harker was alive, Adamar knew it. He had fought along side him and Cobra in Asia those years ago, and he was sure that Cobra was still in contact with him. What would happen if Harker got involved? He would most likely try to kill him: one of the reasons he was spared the first time was because he refused to turn a small boy when the Council had ordered him to directly. But that wasn't what really bothered him. What would Harker do to Lilo? Cobra wouldn't want her killed, but the alternative, locked away in some government facility as a lab rat or worse, could that be any better? No, Harker would kill her before he allowed that to happen; he believed that a quick death was far better than a life of possible torture.

Little did he realize that Harker was the least of his problems.

A shadowy figure had been watching them at the airport, and now he was typing into a laptop computer. The man had ratty brown hair and wore a black trench coat. He connected a small camera to it and uploaded several pictures, snickering to himself.

"I'm sure to get a promotion for this." He said as he finished sending the files. He then took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

A phone rang in the middle of an extravagantly furnished room. Paintings adorned the walls on all sides, and everything was made of the finest materials. A female servant picked up the phone and answered it.

"Yes, the lady is in, but I'm afraid she is busy…yes, I will tell her if it is that important."

The servant went to quickly to the door at the end of the room and knock on it. "My lady, Sir Raven is on the phone, he says it's important."

She heard a loud scream as a reply. "YOU KNOW NOT TO DISTURB ME WHEN I FEED!"

The woman cowered. "He says it has to do with an Adamar."

The voice behind the door quickly changed it's tone. "Indeed? I will see what he wants then."

The woman behind the door rose from her bed. Beside her was a man in his early forties, obviously very weak, like he had been drained over and over again for at least several days. The woman herself looked to be in her mid twenties, with flawless skin and a perfect figure. She ran her fingers thru her stark white locks as she picked up the receiver. "Raven, this had better be good…What! That's a lie. Adamar has never taken a ward, and I don't see how he'd start after 500 hundred years…Fine, I will look at your little pictures, and you'd better be right."

The woman walked over to her computer and opened the email she had been sent. She had to admit, for all their flaws, humans could be clever when they wanted to be. Of course, she would like it better if they were creative for their true masters. She opened the file and began to watch the footage of Sonya walking out of the airport. She hissed a little at the sight of her. She watched her and one of the hackers talk about Adamar. She then fast forwarded to Adamar stepping out of the building. "I don't see a ward, Raven. Where is it?"

"Wait patiently my lady, you will see her soon." Raven replied on the other end of the line.

The woman fast forwarded the footage until she saw a little girl, no more than eight or nine, walk up to the group. She immediately froze the picture. Her ruby eyes zoned in on a small lock of the girl's hair. Then she enlarged the picture and cleared it up so she could see that the girl's hair was starting to change color! Her lips curled up in an evil grin, exposing her bloody fangs. She then turned up the sound so she could hear what was being said. She only had to listen for a few moments to confirm her suspicions.

"Raven, I want you to follow Adamar. Do you know where he is headed?"

"Yes my lady." Raven replied.

"Good. I want you to follow him and his new ward. I want to know all about her. Everything."

"Yes my lady. Do you plan on killing her?"

"What I plan to do Raven is not of importance to you. You will follow them and await my next orders, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes my lady."

The woman put down the receiver and turned back to the video of Lilo and Adamar, her smile even wider. "So her name is Lilo. How exotic. My dear Adamar, I think I will finally be able to forgive you. Once your ward assists me in achieving our race's birthright, I think I will take you back. After I get rid of that hussy Sonya once and for all, of course."

The woman rose from her computer and put on a robe. She opened the doors wide with a huge grin. "Servant girl, where is Thomas?"

"He is in the gym, Lady Kara. Should I fetch him?" the young woman replied, not wanting to anger her master.

"I will fetch him myself. Have some of the others dispose of my plaything, I grow tired of him. Besides, an important matter has come up that I will see to personally."

The servant didn't even question why. She merely gave a nod and left the room. Kara then proceeded to walk down a series of several hallways in her large mansion until she reached her personal gym. Inside a muscular bald man was lifting weights. He was covered in tattoos of all different sorts, and had piercings in several different places.

"Thomas, something has come up that I want you to see to personally."

The man put away his weights and rose from the bench. "Yes matron, what do you wish?"

"It seems an old paramour of mine has finally decided to take a ward. A little Hawaiian girl." Kara said with a small amount of morbid excitement.

"Why does this interest you my lady?" Thomas replied. He had served Kara Burkinstein every since she had turned him over 50 years ago, when he was a solder in the German army, and he had never seen her this excited over anything, save a new human to play with.

"She's a Scion. A full Scion. Her hair has already begun to change color rapidly, and I've been assured that she has not been a vampire for more than a day or so."

Kara herself was a full Scion, and Thomas knew she'd been searching for another for years. Partial Scions, vampires with lighter hair, often white, were rare in that only 1 in 100 vampires would ever experience the change. Full Scions where extremely rare. In fact, the only other full Scion still alive was Nina Marcello, a vampire at least 200 years older than Kara. But Kara wanted a new Scion, a child if she could get one. Why Thomas was unsure, Scions didn't have any special abilities, at least none anyone knew of, but he did not question his creator. "Are you sure she's not just a partial Scion? Has she shown the Mark yet?"

"I don't need to see the Mark, Thomas, she had the dream. The Dream of the Shrine. She is a full Scion. It is only a matter of time before the Mark shows itself."

The mark of a True Scion was in their eyes. In addition to losing all hair color, their eyes would take on a special shade of red, a deep orange red not seen in humans. Their hair would also begin to grow out to an extremely long length, and nothing could be done to be rid of it. Even if shaved off it would regrow to an almost gown like length in a matter of hours. Kara kept hers in a various number of hairstyles, but preferred to keep it free when in private. After all, she was the image of a goddess.

"What do you wish me to do, my lady?" Thomas asked as he put his shirt on.

"I have sent Raven to scout and find out everything on the little girl. When he locates her and her sire, I want you to take all of your best enforcers and bring her back to me. Unhurt if possible, and alive regardless."

"All of my best enforcers? Surely her sire can't be that powerful."

Kara cracked a wicked grin. "It's Adamar."

Thomas returned her grin. He hated Adamar, and to take his first ward right from under his nose, it would be the sweetest assignment he'd ever been given. "Yes my lady. And you will want Adamar alive as well?"

"If you can. After all, it's no fun if he can't suffer. If at all possible, snatch her when she is away from her sire. I want Adamar to come to us."

"Yes Lady Kara. Consider the child yours."

"Good, be ready to head out a first notice." Kara said as she left the room. _Finally, after all these centuries of searching, I've found a child Scion, and in the place I least expected it. Dear sweet Adamar, you have just delivered to me the last piece of the puzzle, and you don't even know it._

It had been several hours since they had left the airport, and Lilo was starting to get tired. The clock on the dash read 4:35 AM, and they had left a little after midnight. "Are we almost there yet?"

"Sure are, in fact, we're coming up to the ol' Mississippi River right now. Just gotta cross that and we're home." Sonya replied.

"The Mississippi River? Where have I heard that before?" Lilo said as she suddenly realized she had never asked where they were going.

"In school I'd imagine, it is the longest river in the US." Magicman replied. "At least I think they still teach that in school."

"They do, but I think I know it from somewhere else." Lilo said as she looked out the window.

"Well, there it is. The Mighty Mississippi. And just beyond it…" Sonya started.

Lilo's eyes went wide as she saw the large pyramid jutting out into the river. There was no mistaking where she was.

"Memphis." She said in a shocked tone.

"Yep, Memphis Tennessee. Ain't as big as where we use to live, but it has it's charms." Sonya replied as she looked at the excitement on the girl's face. "Look's like someone's maybe an Elvis fan."

"Oh that's just great." Magicman remarked sarcastically. "And I suppose she's going to want to see Graceland tomorrow. I've been there kid, and I've seen bigger houses."

"I've been there too, and it was wonderful." Lilo replied.

"So you've been here before Sugar?" Sonya asked as she turned back around.

"Yeah, with my sister and the rest of my ohana." Lilo said somewhat depressed. All the happy memories she had of this place were overshadowed by the fact she'd never see any of them again.

"What's an ohana?" Magicman asked.

"It means family." Adamar said. Unfortunately, what he said caused Lilo to start to cry.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Sonya asked.

"Family means nobody gets left behind." She managed to sniffle out.

"Or forgotten. And I don't think you will ever forget them Lilo." Adamar replied.

"How…how did you know the rest?" Lilo said, looking up at the older vampire.

"I saw a lot of what you and Stitch did on a daily basis. I picked it up when you were trying to convince your sister to forgive one of the experiments after it damaged the house."

"Yeah, don't worry. I still remember my folks, and it's been almost 300 years since I saw them last." Sonya added.

It worked. Lilo's tears started to dry up. "I guess you're right. And I know they will never forget me either."

"See, that's the spirit. Now dry those eyes. You're going to be alright."

"Thanks Sonya." Lilo then returned her attention to the outside, and all the lights of the city. She had a new life waiting for her. A life far away from a foster home and from all the bad memories of her old life. But she would never forget Stitch, and deep down, she believed what Adamar had said before, that she would see him again. Someday, somewhere.

End Chapter 6

Next Chapter

A New Life


	7. A New Life

A/N: Well, I'm back from the dead. (Yes, that was a bad joke.)

Soul of the Night

Chapter 7

A New Life

It had been almost a week since Lilo's disappearance, and Victoria had been trying to find a clue to where she'd been taken. She had tried talking to everyone at the airport, either they hadn't seen her or wouldn't talk about it, since the police had launched their own investigation. She was getting disheartened, the police had no suspects, as Stitch couldn't tell them his suspicions, and Cobra had also disappeared. Pleakly still refused to believe that such a nice person would be capable of such a thing, and Jumba had not left his lab in over three days. Victoria decided that she would try the hotel, even if no one but her and Stitch believed the mysterious man was the culprit, someone might still know where he came from. She tried asking several people, including Mr. Jamerson, but it was the same as it was at the airport. Either no one knew anything about him, or they just brushed her off. She was about ready to give up hope, when she heard the chatting of some small children.

"My mommy said that the nice man is gone, Zoey." One of the children said.

"Yeah, all tourists leave eventually. They live somewhere else." Said another.

"Yeah but he was nice. Not like a lot of the other people. And he was here for a really long time." The third child replied.

"Yeah, I thought he might live here too when I first met him, but Daddy said he lived far away." The first child said as she picked up a juice box.

"Oh where? I bet it was like Europe or something. He seemed like a prince." The third girl said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Naw, I saw a picture of where he lived. There was a big glass pyramid in the picture." The second said. "See, I still have it."

"Where did you get that?" The first girl asked.

"Did you steal it?"

"No! It fell out of his wallet when he bought us ice cream. I tried to give it back to him, but he left before I could."

At that moment an older woman walked up to the three girls. "There you are. Let's get back to the daycare, its story time."

The three girls quickly got up and followed the woman, but in their hurry, the second girl dropped the photo. Victoria walked over and picked it up. There was no way it could be the same person, what were the chances? But she hoped anyway.

The photo did indeed show a big glass pyramid in the distance, beyond it looked to be a river. Three people stood in the photo. On the left was an Asian man, looking at the pitiful sight next to him. A young blond woman was hanging off what appeared to be her boyfriend, smiling widely. The young man gave a threatening glance toward to the camera holder. Victoria had never seen Adamar before, so she wasn't sure that one of these people was him, but she figured it was better than nothing. She rushed back towards Lilo's house with her find. She got halfway there when she bumped into Stitch, who was trying to see if Finder could pick up a scent. Much to his despair, not even the tracking experiment could get anything. When Victoria came running up to him, he looked up.

"Stitch, remember when Pleakly said that the man we thought kidnapped Lilo bought ice cream for everyone at the hotel daycare?" she said as she reached him.

"Ih. Victoria find something?"

"One of the kids picked up a picture that fell out of his wallet, I think. At least I think it may be him. I brought you the picture to see if you recognize anyone."

Stitch took the picture from Victoria and took a look at it. His hands started to shake as he bore his teeth. "Bad man. Him."

Victoria looked over his shoulder. "Really, which one?"

Stitch put his claw to the face of the man of the right, the one who was giving the camera a nasty look. "Him. He took Lilo!"

Victoria looked closer at the photo, when she noticed something wrong with the woman's teeth. "Huh, this must have been taken on Halloween; the woman has vampire fangs in her mouth. They look real."

Stitch however didn't care. He quickly turned the photo around to see words on the back.

"Our first home together."

Stitch and Victoria now knew where Lilo might have been taken. If they could only figure out where this was.

Meanwhile Lilo was just beginning to get used to her new surroundings, and her new wardrobe. The day after she had arrived, Sonya took her on a shopping spree downtown, and they came back with several bags of clothes, all of which were picked out by Sonya. Lilo didn't mind though, she had once asked Nani if she could have clothes like this, and she immediately freaked out. Now she was looking over several of the outfits that she and Sonya had brought home, trying to decide which one she would wear tonight. From what Sonya had told her, Adamar's sire had requested to see her. Lilo knew that he was a powerful vampire, and she was nervous about how she would be received. She finally decided on a simple solid black dress.

She turned to look at herself in the mirror. Adamar had insisted that Sonya dye her hair for tonight, for reasons Lilo was still not sure. Whenever she would ask about why he wanted to keep her hair a secret, he would say he'd tell her later, or that he was busy preparing his report. Without the dye, her hair had become dark gray all over, no longer on just one side of her hair, and had begun to become lighter. Sonya figured it would just be a matter of days before all color was gone from her hair completely. Lilo twirled around to see the back of the dress, only to see that her hair had grown an inch overnight. She sighed as she turned to look out the window of the 8th story condo in which they lived. _Am I going to become a Scion? Everything that's supposed to happen is: my hair is turning white and it's growing longer than I've ever had it. How long before my eyes change color? Will I really look like that girl in my dream?_ Lilo thought again about the other her in the dream. She had seemed really eerie, but fascinating in a strange sort of way. _I guess it wouldn't be too bad looking like that. I'd really turn heads, that's for sure. But why is Adamar trying to hide what's happening?_ This worried Lilo more than anything at the moment, and when she tried to ask Sonya about it, she would become strangely quiet. And when Trevor had come to see how they were doing, she asked him. He plainly stated that he had no idea either; he'd never seen Adamar act like this. He said that he and the elder Nina didn't always see eye to eye, but that was no reason for him to try and hide the fact that Lilo might be a Scion. But he admitted that he really didn't know Adamar too well, and if the subject caused Sonya to clam up, that she might need to look farther back to find her answer.

"Lilo, it's time to go." Sonya called out from the other room, breaking Lilo out of her thoughts.

"I thought we weren't supposed to meet Adamar until 8:30?" Lilo replied as she entered the living room.

"We aren't, but I thought you might be hungry." Sonya replied.

Lilo indeed was starting to feel like she needed to feed. "Yeah, but isn't there blood left in the storage fridge?" Adamar kept blood in a fridge disguised as an out of the way intable. If someone were to get curious about it, he would admit it was a designer wine rack.

"Sugar, have you even had blood from the source since you turned?"

"No, not since Myrtle, back in Hawaii. And that's still kinda fuzzy."

"Well then." Sonya said as she reached for her keys. "I think it's time you started to learn to feed yourself."

About twenty minutes later, the pair arrived on Beale Street, one of the main party spots of the city. Sonya had spent the entire trip explaining some of the basic of feeding, how to look inconspicuous, how to select a target and get them alone, etc.

"Is that how Adamar does it?" Lilo asked as she straightens her dress.

Sonya rolled her eyes. "No, normally the superhero tries to find someone committing a crime or attacking someone, and then he strikes. But he's old enough that someone seeing him isn't a problem."

"You mean like he can knock people out just by touching them?"

"Yes. Thought he doesn't have to touch them. And how did you know that?"

"I don't know. I think he might have done it while I was ward sick."

"He might have, because his sleep powers are strong enough to knock out other vampires, and doing it in a burst would have hit you. But when he's alone, that isn't an issue."

"Will I be able to do that one day?"

"Yep. There are a lot of things we can do with our energy, things you will learn soon enough."

"I have another question." Lilo asked as they made their way thru the crowd. "How does Adamar's bottle do what it does?"

"Oh that." Sonya started to reply. "Well, have you ever heard stories about magic?"

"You mean we can do magic too?" Lilo said, trying to contain her excitement.

"Well, sweetie, yes and no. No we can't do those things you hear in stories, that's a bunch of make-believe."

Sonya continued to explain as they made their way into a building. "Anyway, a few of our kind can do a few things with it, but then not much and most of it is blood related. Some humans, on the other hand, are quite adapt with the stuff. In fact, magic is what often makes vampire hunters dangerous. Its one thing when they are just armed with swords and guns. It's another when they can set you on fire with a few words and some dust."

"What about vampires who were good with magic before?" Lilo inquired as she looked around the shop. Various strange objects adorn the walls and many odd items populated the shelves. This was obviously some sort of novelty shop.

"Lose most of their powers for some reason. I guess our powers and much of magic isn't compatible." Sonya said as she looked around the store. "Ah, there she is. Megan!"

The redheaded woman turned towards them. "Sonya! I haven't seen you in a few weeks, where have you been?"

"Oh, I've been around." Sonya replied. "Anyway, I'd like you to meet someone."

"So this is the little girl you've been talking about? Adamar's little adoption?" Megan said as she looked Lilo over. "My, aren't you just the cutest thing?"

Suddenly Lilo started getting very nervous. "Thank you." She stuttered out.

"Now, now, no need to be shy! Sonya's told me a lot about you." Megan replied as she looked back up at Sonya. "Anyway Sonya, what brings you around here so early?"

"Well, any of the 'friends' around?" Sonya whispered. "I mean, Lilo's an eager learner, but her physical age makes normal methods difficult."

"Yeah, but most of them aren't gonna be much help, again cause of her age." Megan whispered back. "But then I can still see what I can do."

"Oh no, I don't expect Lilo to do it by herself. I figured I'd just let her reap instead of me." Sonya said, her eyes scanning for anyone who could be listening in.

"What are you talking about?" Lilo asked. Friends, methods, reaping, Lilo was confused.

Sonya looked down at her. "Don't worry sweetie, just hang tight for a minute, k?"

"Alright." Lilo replied, as she started to wander around the shop. T-Shirts, gimmick items, and souvenirs lined the shelves. In the corner she saw a boy just a few years older than herself stuff something into his pocket and make his way to the door.

_That boy is stealing!_ Lilo headed out the door after him and started to follow him thru the crowd. She didn't want to call him out in the store; she figured she would confront him outside and talk him into giving it back. He quickly darted between one of the buildings and broke out into a run.

_Oh no, you aren't getting away that easy._ Lilo thought as she took off after him. He was fast though, and he was starting to get distance as they were getting further and further from the crowds. Just as she thought she was going to lose him, she felt herself become lighter and the buildings around her blurred for a moment. Suddenly she was right behind him! _How did I do that?_

Lilo didn't have time to continued her thoughts, as the teenager turned around to confront her. "What do you think you are doing following me? Get lost before I make you."

"Give back what you took then." Lilo replied sternly. She could feel herself starting to ache a bit, as a familiar feeling set in.

"Who are you to make me? You aren't the cops." The boy replied. "Besides, they ain't gonna miss it anyway."

"Why would steal something like that anyway? Why do you want it so bad you need to steal it?" Lilo asked, unconsciously advancing closer.

"Cause I could. Now get lost before I make you regret it." He threatened. "I don't even know why I'm bothering to mess with you, but just be glad I'm in a good mood and don't beat you down."

The truth was the teenage boy was frightened. He'd thought he'd given this girl the slip was all the sudden she was on top of him in an instant. And her eyes, something wasn't right about them. They were a reddish brown, and he couldn't tear his gaze away from them. So he reached into his pocket for something to scare her off. And that turned out to be a mistake.

Lilo could feel herself getting hungry, and knew she had to get back to Sonya soon. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea of feeding off others, but she figured Sonya would help her get used to it. Just as she was about to just give up on the idiot thief, he pulled a knife.

"Alright kid, now get lost before I cut you." The boy said, waving the knife. He figured that would do the trick, nobody was crazy enough to fight over a knick knack.

Lilo saw the knife, but instead of getting scared, she lunged at him, almost as if her body was acting on its own. Memories of the night her sister died flooded back into her mind and before the boy could even flinch, she had hold of his arm and began to apply pressure. The boy let out a cry born out of surprise and pain, as the knife fell to the ground.

"How dare you. I try to help you and you try to kill me?" Lilo's voice was full of anger as she felt the fire within her grow hotter. Her lifesight activated, and as she saw the orange glow, she gave in to her growing urge.

"Let go of me, I wasn't gonna actually stab ya, I just wanted you to leave me alone!" Then the boy saw her eyes, glowing red, and tried to scream. However, Lilo's fangs driving into his neck seemed to take the air out of him, as he began to lose his footing. She began to suck the blood from his veins, her heart and mind still furious at her quarry, even thru the ecstasy flowing thru her. This was reflected in her prey's behavior, and he twisted and convulsed, in so great a pain that he couldn't even give out a cry. As she felt this, she came to her senses. She eased her grip, and began to softly suck at his neck. The moans telling her that he was no longer in pain, she withdrew her fangs from his neck as he slumped to the ground. Lilo felt herself start to come out of her feeding haze, as her view of the world returned to normal. She looked down at her now unconscious prey and sighed. All this over a small snowglobe. She wondered for a moment what caused her to fight instead of flee when he took out the knife, but then she realized. _I'll bet this is how the men that killed Nani started out: teenage punks taking things for the thrill of it. I know he won't remember me tomorrow, but I hope tonight helps him change his ways._

As Lilo stood over the boy, a raven flew from its perch. "That wasn't bad for a first time, dear child, but there is a reason we hunt in groups."

Lilo quickly turned around, afraid someone had caught her feeding, when the words sunk into her still hazed mind. Behind her at the edge of the alley was a tall woman with long white hair. Lilo realized that she was a True Scion, because of the bright red of her eyes.

"My, my. Sonya has gotten tacky on me. I figured she'd be able to do something as simple as keep track of a child, but alas not."

"Who are you?" Lilo asked. "You're a Scion aren't you?"

"Why yes dear I am." The woman replied. "As are you, from what I have been told."

"I don't know." Lilo replied, her voice shaky. This woman was most likely the woman Adamar told her about, the elder Nina, and that fact alone made Lilo very nervous. She felt as if the woman was judging her. "That's what the others told me."

"Dear child, there is nothing to be fearful of. But tell me, why did you dye your hair, when it is a symbol of pride for a Scion?" Nina said as she stepped closer to Lilo.

"Because Adamar wanted me to. He said it might attract attention." Lilo replied.

"Sigh, Adamar. I swear he is a living contradiction. Careful in one moment, reckless in the next, then apprehensive again. He is the only vampire I have ever known to both fear death and seek it at the same time."

"What do you mean? Is being a Scion dangerous?" Lilo asked fearfully.

"It was at one time, long ago, but now it is no more dangerous than being a vampire is." Nina said as she extended her hand. "But we will have to have that dye removed as soon as possible. It is an insult to Selune."

"Ok, but won't Adamar be angry?" Lilo said as she took the elder's hand.

"I will deal with Adamar. Although he is your sire, he has no right to hide the blessing bestowed upon you by the goddess." Nina replied.

Lilo turned back to look at the teenager. "But what about him? Shouldn't we do something to cover our tracks?"

Nina laughed at the girl's statement. "Dear child, even if he is discovered, who would think of creatures of the night? In my many years, if there is one thing I've learned about humans, it that they will always believe something to be something logical to them. I mean, who thinks of vampires when one could just have easily have passed out."

"What about hunters?" Lilo asked. "Why do they believe then?"

Nina's mood became somber. "No two have the exact same reasons. Some have lost family to our kind; some just were at the wrong place at the wrong time but managed to remain unnoticed. And a select few knew from birth that what society tells them is real is a lie."

"You mean the ones with magic?" Lilo replied as the two started making their why back to Beale.

"Magic, psychic power, the blessing of God, it has been called many things, but the fact remains that when you are able to bend and defy the natural laws that hold back your kin, it is easier to believe that there are more things that can do the same." Nina said as she reached into her purse. "But not only them, but many hunters train their young in their ways, and they are taught from the cradle that what you can't see may still be there."

"Oh, that makes sense." Lilo said. She then remembered about the fact that Adamar had been apprehensive about her being a true Scion, and figured Nina might know why. "Why is Adamar so concerned about me being a Scion?"

"You are not merely a Scion. You are a Pure Scion; and its not that he is concerned. It just someone he knew a long time ago was also a Pure Scion and their relationship ended, well, rather badly."

"What happened?" Lilo asked.

Nina sighed. "It is not my place to tell you things your sire wants to keep secret from you, but I'm sure Adamar will tell you when he feels more comfortable about it."

"Ok." Lilo said, defeated. Suddenly she remembered Sonya. "Oh no, I left Sonya back in that shop. She's going to be so mad at me!"

"I doubt it." Nina said as she pulled out her cell phone. "Though I'm certain she is worried." Nina pushed a button on her cell and put it up to her ear.

After a few seconds, someone picked up on the other line. "Hello Sonya. You can stop looking, I've found Lilo. Now what should I tell Adamar and Ganz that you slipped up on watching her."

_I'm sorry Lady Nina, but she was here one second, and gone the next! What happened?_

"She caught a boy stealing from the store you were in, and chased him down."

_Damnit, she's becoming like Adamar already. What happened when she caught him?_

"She handled herself quite well. She already seems to be able to sidestep and she was able to defend herself when the boy pulled a knife, though I suspect much of it was reflex."

_Someone pulled a knife on her? Is she okay?_

"Sonya, she may be young, but she is still of the night. The boy would have been no threat even had he pulled a gun."

_What happened to the boy?  
_

"What do you think happened? I'm sure you were arranging a feeder for her, were you not?"

_That's not a nice thing to call them, and she fed herself? Wow, I guess she's a little more capable than I had hoped._

"Sonya, if you knew half of what this girl has accomplished, you would have no doubts in her at all."

_Yeah Adamar told me a little bit about that, but he was really cryptic about it all, even for him._

"That's because he was under my orders to be. But enough, I want you and Megan to be ready when I arrive."

_I thought the meeting with Lord Ganz wasn't until 9? What's the rush?_

Nina's voice became stern. "It will take that long to get this dye out of Lilo's hair. You of all should know better."

_I'm sorry Lady Nina, Adamar was adamant on it. But how did you know she was a Pure?_

"How I knew is not your concern. Now you and Megan will be ready when I arrive. Is that clear?"

_Yes ma'am. Crystal. I'm just glad Lilo's okay, the poor baby had me worried._

"Very well, we will be their within five minutes. Goodbye."

Sonya slammed her cell phone shut. "Damn her, I'm not a ward anymore. And Lilo isn't her ward anyway, why does she care that Adamar dyes her hair?"

Megan's eyes went wide. "You mean she's a?"

"Not just a Scion, a Pure. And you can bet why that's got ol' Adam riled up.

"Kara." Megan said as she began to gather her things. "It's been forever, and he's still hung up on her."

"No, I'm actually starting to think that he thinks she's still alive." Sonya replied, her voice full of anger. "Paranoid fool, no one could have survived that."

"What, does he think she's been in hiding for all these years?" Megan said as she waved goodbye to the owner.

"Yeah, and I think he's convinced that Lilo's being a Pure is what's going to cause her to show her ugly mug again." Sonya said as the two walked out into the street.

Noticing her friend starting to get angrier by the second, she tried to change the subject. "Let's not worry about it. Kara's dead, we all saw Victoria Harker kill her all those years ago."

"No, and that's just it. We saw the building erupt in a blaze, and true only Victoria came out, but we don't exactly know what happened in there. And it wasn't like she was in a talkative mood after Kara killed her husband."

"But I thought you…"

"I know she's dead. If she wasn't, she'd have come back for revenge by now, probably wiped out the entire Harker line to boot, and Adamar himself said that the newest in the Harker line looks just like her Great-Great Grandmother, down to the freckles. Even has her name."

"Wait, I thought Jonathan was the last? And where did Adamar learn this? I figured he'd be the last one to willing go near a Harker." Megan said, with no small amount of surprise in her voice.

"Jonathan did have a daughter ya know. She didn't take up hunting however, as far as any of us know, and from the looks of it she doesn't want her daughter to have anything to do with hunting either." Sonya said as they waited for Nina and Lilo.

"How did he figure that out?"

Sonya smiled. "You know Adamar and his attraction to quarreling couples. Apparently he overheard that her father wanted to train her, and Christina would hear nothing of it."

"Well that's a relief." Megan said as she fooled with her hair. "Another Victoria Harker is the last thing we need."

"You said it." Sonya replied. "Look, I think I see Nina and Lilo! Over here!"

It was several hours later, but they were finally able to get the all the dye from Lilo's hair. But when the soap was cleared, only white remained in her hair. "Geez, what does this stuff have in it, bleach?" Megan exclaimed.

"Yeah, her hair was grey when I dyed it yesterday." Sonya remarked.

"Why, what color is it now?" Lilo asked, not able to see.

"You two seemed surprised. Did you not remember me telling you that a Pure's full mark manifests very shortly after her second feeding from a human?" Nina said as she walked into the room.

"Ah, crap, I'd forgotten that. But in our defense, that was over two hundred years ago." Megan replied as she reached for a towel.

"You mean my hair is white?" Lilo exclaimed, trying to lift up her head from the sink where they had been washing the dye out.

"Calm down Sugar, let's dry your hair first so we don't get you clothes all wet." Sonya said as she hooked up the blow dryer.

After a few more minute of fussing with her hair, Sonya picked up a mirror. Lilo had quickly learned after moving in with Sonya and Adamar that vampires did cast reflections, so she didn't have to worry about mirrors. Now she was in for another surprise. When she looked into to the mirror, looking back at her was the girl in her dream. Not only had her hair gone stark white, but her eyes were now a blood red.

"My eyes…" Lilo said in a wisp.

"The heck? I knew they were getting redder, but I guess I wasn't paying attention. That was fast." Sonya exclaimed as she turned off the blow dryer.

"Indeed, the Mark sets in quickly after the second feeding. Within a few hours in fact. Thought I must admit this is far faster than my own mark set in, or any of the others." Nina said as she examined Lilo closer. "But well enough, I am happy that I am no longer the only living Pure Scion."

"What happened to the others?" Lilo asked as she stood up.

For a moment, there was only silence. "They were killed." Nina said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

Both Megan and Sonya were shocked that Nina would have just come out and said it. "But…" Sonya stuttered out.

"She deserves to know the truth. Almost one hundred years ago, one of our own tried to kill us all, thinking she'd gain the full power of Selune by doing so. She had managed to kill all but myself, when she made the mistake of crossing the path of a vampire hunter by the name of Victoria Harker. She had slain her husband when he was trying to defend one of the Scions, and Victoria chased her down to an old house right here in Memphis. By the time we arrived, the house was ablaze, Harker walking out, her body bruised and battered. Kara had made the mistake of underestimating the human sorceress, and it was the last mistake she ever made."

"So her name was Kara." Lilo said. "Did Adamar know her? Is that why he doesn't like the fact I'm a Scion?"

"I believe you should take that inquiry up with Adamar himself." Nina said as she turned to the door. "But now is not the time. I am certain that Adamar is finished giving his report, and Ganz has been very eager to meet you. I haven't seen him this excited over something in a long time."

Lilo took on last look in the mirror, taking in all the changes. She then inhaled deeply, preparing herself to meet who may very well be the oldest vampire alive, the elder Ganz Media.

Meanwhile Victoria had returned home late in the evening. "Man I hope Mom and Dad don't kill me." But to her surprise, the house was quiet. She checked everyone room in the house, until she came to the kitchen and the note on the fridge.

Dear Victoria,

An important family matter has come up, and I'm afraid your father and I had to leave at the last second. There's money in the envelope on the counter, enough to get you thru the week. I'm very sorry we are leaving you alone, but I hope that we will have this matter settled by the end of the week.

Love Mom.

Victoria sighed. "Not again. They just got home, and now they leave me again. It's not fair." But this gave her time to figure out where Lilo was. She walked towards her parent's room and the computer when something caught her eye. The trapdoor to the attic was ajar, a piece of cloth caught in it. Normally Victoria wasn't allowed in the attic unsupervised, and there was one certain thing she was not allowed near regardless: an old chest in the corner of the attic. The one time she had tired, she had found the chest padlocked, and her mother grounded her for a month for touching it. But they weren't home now, were they? _It wouldn't hurt to look inside. Afterall, they did leave me alone. They'll never know._

Victoria attempted to jump up to grab the rope, but it was far too high up for her to reach easily. She then went and got a chair from the kitchen and was able to reach the rope. She then gently unfolded the stairs and climbed up. She treaded carefully to edge of the attic, imagining that at any moment her mother would come storming up the stairs. She reminded herself that her parents were gone, and that they had forgotten to get her a babysitter, again. When she reached the chest, she looked at the worn padlock, and to her surprise, someone had forgot to lock it back. _What luck! Now I don't have to figure out how to pick the lock. _

Victoria removed the padlock and swung the chest open. To her surprise, the chest was mostly devoid of contents, save a few pictures and two small books. The pictures were old and yellowed, but the books seemed even older, almost like they would turn to dust if she touched them. She carefully scooped up the photos and began to examine them. The only one of them in color showed a tall man standing next to what looked like her mother at an early age. _Is this a picture of my granddad? I wonder why we don't have any other pictures in the house._ Victoria's mother had told her at an early age that her mom and dad were dead, her mother died shortly after she was born, and her father disappeared shortly after she turned 16. And her dad was an orphan, so she had no grandparents or other relatives to look after her when her parents decided to take off. _I wonder why Mom keeps these photos hidden. Is she ashamed of Granddad?_

Victoria looked at the remainder of the photos, and most of them were the same, pictures of people, probably distant relatives. One picture in particular captured her interest, a faded photo which looked to be just about as old as the two books. In it stood a man and woman it what looked to be clothing straight out of the first part of the last century. But that wasn't what got her attention. It was the fact that the woman in the picture looked like an older version of herself. She flipped the photo over to see if it had any writing, and although it did, everything but one of the names was too blurred to read. "Victoria Harker." Victoria said aloud. Victoria then remembered something her mother had told her a long time ago, that she had been named after her great-great grandmother. Victoria figured then that she must have been someone important, but her mother had just said she had liked the name.

Victoria carefully placed the photos back into the chest and took out the first of the two books, which looked to be a diary. Strangely enough, all of the text was at least legible, if not a bit weathered. Victoria was about to start reading when she realized that she was supposed to be helping to find Lilo. She quickly tucked the two books under her arm and made her way downstairs. She'd just make sure she put the books back before her parents came home.

Just as she had reached the bottom of the steps, she heard a loud boom, and the power went out. "Well this is just great, no power means no internet." Victoria said with a sigh. Her vision turned down to the books in her arms. "Well, I have a flashlight, and now is a good of time as any to see why you are so important I'd get grounded for a month."

Victoria made her way to her room and took out her flashlight. She opened the diary to the first page as she clicked on the light. As her eyes fell on the page, a note fell from the first page:

_Jonathan_

_If you are reading this, then either I have passed on or am too old to continue our struggle. I can only hope that the light within you is bright, for it is the least of requirements to survive. What is in this book is a collection of knowledge and experiences I have gained over my short life. The death of my husband and the subsequent hunt of his murderer had caused me to realize that I must record what I know, for this menace will live on long after me. Take these words to heart, as they are the most powerful weapon I can leave you._

_With love, _

_Grandma Victoria_

End Chapter 7

Next Chapter

The Words of Elders


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